You are a creator. You invest a great deal of thought and work on your project. Can you let it go? You must overcome many fears to let go of your creation. Value yourself and trust that you are not your creation.
Overcome Your Fear
A creator must overcome many fears: fear of starting, fear of failure, fear of judgment, and the fear of letting go.
Congratulations, you’ve gotten past the “getting started.” You’ve gotten past the fear of failure and completed your project. Then, the fear of judgment raises its ugly head. A professional assesses your project and you improve, thus you’ve mastered that fear. Next, you face the loss of control. You must put your project out for the public to ignore, like, love, or hate. And that fear, the fear of letting go, has you frozen.
Your Creation Doesn’t Define Your Value
For hours, days, months, or even years while making your creation, it is yours and yours alone. But even if you do not wish to sell your creations—understand you are not your creation.
The core of your self-worth is your view of your worthiness and value as a human being. It is part self-esteem, part self—confidence, and part self-acceptance.
It is not dependent upon the level of your abilities, the “worth” of your project, how popular you are, or how much money you make. You get to decide what makes or breaks you.
Know that you are valuable in and of yourself regardless of successes and failures, regardless of abilities or faults, and regardless of monetary values. Value who you are.
Your self-worth has nothing to do with your craft or calling, and everything to do with how you treat yourself. Kris Carr
Make Room
Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.
Erich Fromm
Letting go of your creation is both an internal process and a conscious choice. If you know your self-worth, you recognize that your project no longer serves a purpose for you. It may serve a purpose for someone else, if you let go of it.
Don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t worry about who will love it, who will hate it. There will be both. It has nothing to do with you, with your value. When you sell a piece, it is no longer yours. It belongs to the buyer who sees your project through his or her own life-experience and expectations. You cannot change their perceptions because you cannot change their life experience—except through how they see your creation(s). Let it go.
Get Ready
You are a creator, but you are not your creation. Trust that you’ve done enough. Let go of your project and create space for the next project. Get excited for the next project, the process, growth, and experience you’ll gain.