Welcome to Art Confidence: Your Six Week Boost Week 2. Below you will find all of the information for the second week.
Week 2 – Let’s Celebrate!
Week one was all about reframing self-criticism by working with our Inner Critic. The focus for week two is all about supporting ourselves by accounting and celebrating what we are good at. Building a bank of evidence and information on our strengths, achievements and successes is hugely helpful in building our self-esteem and confidence. It provides a positive resource we can fall back on if we feel our confidence wavering. You may already have this in place, however, if you don’t then my intention for you this week is to begin the process of building this valuable aspect of your art practice.
Task 2
Begin by identifying someone you know who is a positive and supportive person and that you know will be willing to help you. You may even want to let them know about this challenge and why you are asking for their help.
Share a piece of work with them and ask them for positive feedback. Ensure that they are clear that you only want positive feedback.
Write down the things they say that you like best. You could pin this with the positive messages from the previous week or write it in your journal.
Do this with one or two more people that you are confident will offer positive comments.
Now for your feedback to yourself. Each day think about at least one thing (there can be more) you have done creatively that day with which you are satisfied or proud. Write it/them down, this can be in your journal if you have one, or on individual sheets of paper. Most important is that you keep a record in a way that suits you and is easily accessible for you to look at.
By the end of the week, you will have a couple of pages of positive feedback to yourself.
Notice how it feels to have done this. Take time with your noticing and allow the feedback to really land with you. As with last week, you may need to say each statement to yourself and pause between each one. Possibly take a few deep breaths as you allow the positive words to impact you.
What is it like to reread the comments you have noted down? If you found this a particularly difficult task then you might find it helpful to keep up the self-feedback for another week or two until you find that giving yourself positive feedback flows more easily and you feel more comfortable with it.
Why not keep the comments coming? Add to them regularly over time and you will build up a lovely resource of positivity that you can go to when your confidence needs a boost.
Your Question/Task for the Art Boost Bonanza Prize this Week
What was the thing you were most proud of this week?
You’ll find the question for this week posted on Friday 20th in the Facebook group. Search for the post to answer the question using #artconfidenceweek2
I will also be live in the Facebook group on Friday afternoons at about 3.30 pm UK time with my regular Art to End Live where I review my week. Each week, during the challenge I will have something to say about that week’s task. The live’s are recorded so if you can’t make it in person you can catch up later.
Do let me know how you get on and if you have questions you can drop me a message through the website, hit reply to this email or post your query in the free Facebook group Art Fluency Community.