Even on my best days, doubt can play tricks with me and taunt me. When this happens I have to remind myself that doubt is not necessary a bad thing. As an artist I always live in doubt. When I step back from a canvas and dip my brush into the water to clear away the excess paint, I wonder… “Is it done?” “Have I gotten it just right?” “Have I said enough or too much?”

Doubt prompts us to step back and re-examine our work. This is healthy – for us and for our art. But doubt can also create huge mental blocks that stand in our way, and the more doubts we have, the more blocks appear. And soon – too soon – we find ourselves fenced in without knowing how it happened or how to get out.

Here, I’ll present 10 ways I’ve learned to let doubt inspire me—10 ways I still use doubt today to reach my own personal and artistic goals.

1. Doubt asks you if your work stands out from the crowd. Well does it? How? Contemplate the answer to this question and you’ll have your best sales pitch to any gallery.
2. Doubt demands that you understand your own unique style and artistic voice. Probe your doubt to discover what it is about your subject matter, your inspiration and your techniques that make your art yours! Put this in your artist statement, on your web site, and in your blog.
3. Talk to Doubt as if it were a real person. Get in a fight with Doubt. It’s a great way to work through the pent up emotions and release tension. And if timed right, it’s guaranteed to have door-to-door salesmen and bible-thumpers running from your house – never to return.
4. Answer each nagging complaint that Doubt has with, “No it’s not because _________.” Arguing with Doubt is a great way to put Doubt in its place and find the strengths of your work. When you’re got your strengths identified and quelled Doubt, try putting them (your strengths) together in a simple 10-word sentence that you can use to promote your work.
5. Doubt will make you re-examine the past. Find out what’s worked and what hasn’t. Keep the good and build on it. Re-evaluate the mediocre and see if there’s a way you can work around it, improve it, or delegate it. And the bad – toss it out with the trash!
6. Doubt will make you question your goals. This is a good thing because goals are not meant to be formed in cement. They’re meant to be living things that grow and shrink – just like your waistline. It’s okay to re-think your goals, to make sure you’re not trying to do too much too soon. Turn Doubt’s nagging, “you can’t” into an opportunity to ask, “How can I do this?” Plan out your road to success – step by step.
7. Doubt will call into question what you’ve accomplished. Turn the tables on Doubt. Make a list of your accomplishments. Tape them to the refrigerator and add more and more accomplishments as you remember each one. Don’t every stop writing them down. Be proud of where you’ve been and what you’ve done.
8. Make a list of your doubts. This list will show you where your actions may have been inconsistent, unfocused or unproductive. Then use this list to create an action plan for improvement.
9. Doubt will question the value of your work. The next time Doubt asks, “Is it good enough?” take Doubt on a fact-finding mission. Show your work to a friend, a neighbor, a fellow artist – or even a complete stranger and ask them, “What is your reaction to this work? What words or emotions does it bring to mind?” DON’T ask if they like it. You may want the validation, but what you really need is to know that your work speaks to people and interests them.
10. Doubt will poke you in the shoulder and let you know when it’s time to walk away from a project. Yes, sometimes, we don’t know when to quit. And you all know what happens when you pick up the brush and apply more paint just one time too many – you ruin the work. So if Doubt’s really nagging you – listen. Put down the brush and walk away. Get a bunch of water balloons and fill them with paint and take your frustration out on a canvas in your backyard. Explore and discover another art form or technique. Let Doubt refresh your mind and inspire your artistic spirit.

(c) 2009 ~Querida Lu Ahn Funck