In today's episode CGA Founder, Megan Wimberley discusses the power of mindset in pursuing and growing your art career.

Takeaways:

1. Megan discusses the upcoming CGA Artist Conference, emphasizing the need to mark calendars for this exciting event.
2. She highlights the importance of mindset, showing how two artists can have completely different experiences from the same situation.
3. Megan shares personal insights about overcoming resistance in her work and embracing the opportunity to build her own career.
4. The podcast explores rejection as a common experience for artists, stressing that it often isn't personal and shouldn't define self-worth.
5. She encourages artists to shift their perspective on comparison and self-doubt, reminding artist that their unique voice is what makes their work valuable.
6. Megan emphasizes that growth comes from taking action and learning through experience, even if mistakes happen along the way.

Hi and welcome to Cowgirl Artists of America's podcast.

I'm your host, Megan Wimberley.

Before we get started, I want to share something really exciting.

We haven't released the full lineup or details yet, but if this is something you're interested in, go ahead and mark your calendars now.

Space is going to be limited and seats will be released to CGA members first.

Today we're talking about something that I think is a great beginning of the year topic, and that's mindset and why it has such a powerful influence on your experience as an artist and business owner.

Two artists can experience.

They have the exact same situation, but walk away with two completely different experiences based on how they interpreted and responded to it.

So here's kind of a simple example.

You're in the middle of painting and you realize that that you are out of a color you need.

You're super in the groove.

You don't want to stop.

One artist might get very frustrated.

They're annoyed they forgot to get the paint.

They're annoyed they have to stop.

They're annoyed at traffic, annoyed at the checkout line.

By the time they get home, they're drained emotionally and energetically, and they don't even want to keep painting.

Another artist has the same exact situation, but they don't love it.

But, you know, they treat it as a break.

They stretch their legs, they get some air.

Maybe they even wander around the art store for a few extra minutes, and when they come back, they're reset and ready to work.

Same situation, two different experiences, and two different outcomes.

This is something that I've been thinking about a lot in my own life and something that I've paid attention to a lot for the last few years.

But recently I noticed that I'd started approaching parts of my business with resistance, especially office space work.

I was delaying things, dragging things out, and fighting my schedule instead of just doing it.

I wanted to be painting.

I would always think, I don't want to do this.

I want to be painting.

But then I had a moment where I stopped and I thought what it would feel like if I didn't get to do this work.

If I was working a 9 to 5 for somebody else, I would probably be sitting at a desk still answering emails, but I'd be wishing that I was sitting at my home answering emails for my own business, building my own schedule, and creating the life that I want and what an incredible opportunity that I have to get to do that.

Why would I hate that opportunity?

It totally shifted my perspective and it was something that really needed to happen.

No matter where you are in your career, there are always going to be parts of your work that aren't your favorite.

But you remember that this is your business and your career.

It's your path.

It becomes easier to keep energy and excitement instead of frustration when you have to do those tasks that aren't the most exciting.

Another place mindset shows up is around rejection.

And rejection isn't just something new artists experience.

Established artists experience it.

And you can experience it in various realms, whether it's art shows, gallery opportunities, grants, residencies, anything.

Some artists can take rejection very personally, but most of the time it isn't.

It simply means the opportunity wasn't the right fit at that moment.

Maybe there are things you need to improve.

Maybe it just came down to preference, timing, or curatorial direction.

A rejection is not a statement about your value and worth, but many artists feel like it is.

If that's you, then you need to take a second to start shifting your mindset around that as an artist, you are going to face rejection after rejection, after rejection.

And changing your perspective and your emotions around this can have a profound impact on your life for the rest of your career.

I like to think about opportunities and rejections as walls and doors.

A wall just means that the route isn't currently open to me.

So I turn and I look for an opening.

I turn and look for a door.

If you keep moving, doors appear.

Some of them, you even make yourself.

Comparison is another place where artists can lose momentum.

You're not meant to look like everybody else.

Your work isn't supposed to be like everybody else.

You are building your body of work.

You have your distinct voice and a career that no one else can replicate.

When you try to blend in, you lose what makes your work recognizable.

And this often comes out of fear.

So that's an area where a perspective shift, a mindset shift, can happen.

Growth requires exploration, and it requires mistakes.

It requires working through the ugly work to get to the good work.

And that's not just in your art itself, but also in the way you do.

Social media posts, send emails, build your website.

Every single thing you do is going to have a learning curve, and it's better to get started now.

Perfectionism will also stall you.

Waiting for everything to be just right will cost you years.

You don't grow by waiting.

You grow by doing again.

You're going to see this Theme over and over again that this emotion wants to hold us back.

But we get to where we want by doing the thing.

We do it scared, we do it anxious, we do it ugly, we just do it until we get better, until we get more confident.

You don't trust the sea to always be calm.

You learn to be a good sailor.

I don't know if you've heard that quote, but that is the reality.

So many times when you're feeling fear or anxiety about something, you can pause and ask yourself, am I trying to ensure that the sea is not stormy, or am I developing skills and self worth and self confidence that are going to help me competently sail on any seas when you can shift from I am worried about that thing to I know that I can handle whatever happens.

It is a huge mindset shift that helps keep you from being stalled out and moving forward again.

Your confidence comes from skills, your adaptability, your experience, your ability to learn and your ability to respond when things, things shift.

It doesn't come from perfect conditions.

Self doubt is another place where many artists have issues with their mindset.

Maybe you second guess yourself, you replay conversations, you ask yourself again and again if you or your work are even good enough.

If self doubt is constant and immobilizing, I do recommend therapy.

Therapy can be such a powerful support for your personal life and your career, and a good therapist is worth their weight in gold.

And if you just struggle with self doubt a little bit, but it comes up fairly frequently, maybe the most effective thing to try is to simply move forward with the self doubt.

Like I said, moving forward with the fear, the anxiety, the self doubt and confidence grows out of that.

Sometimes an action, not an action, sometimes a mantra can be really helpful as you work through taking those actions, because you're essentially giving your brain a different phrase, a different idea, a different thought to focus on.

So maybe I'm not good enough becomes I am right where I'm supposed to be.

I will get to where I'm going.

And that helps shift you out of that mindset that's holding you back.

Maybe you struggle with imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is a funny one because you might be very advanced in your career and still struggle with this.

As your career grows, sometimes your identity lags behind.

Sometimes you still feel like that newbie artist just getting started, even though you have built a record reputation for yourself, a body of work and proof.

I recently went back and read an email I sent to a gallery years ago and it sounded so awkward and insecure and Newbie and I was kind of embarrassed to read it.

The response I received was so kind.

Many times you're not going to get a response whenever you're emailing people, but this person responded very kindly even though my email was less than perfect and it didn't matter that it was less than perfect.

And most importantly, sending that email gave me practice.

If I wouldn't have sent that email years and years ago, I wouldn't have developed this skill.

That's the same with social media, with your work, with your website, everything.

You just have to build the skill.

Every step you take, even the imperfect one, builds the art artist and the career and the artwork you are wanting to the career you're wanting to develop.

Waiting until you feel ready is another way that you might hold yourself back.

Maybe your mindset is that you have to be ready.

You have to be perfect first and then you can act.

You have to have all your ducks in a row and you can act.

That is not the way that it works.

Often building art career takes years and years and years.

And when you take the action, you are developing skill, you're developing quality, you are actually building the career.

You're starting out small and you're growing bigger.

You are going to look back 10 years from now and you're going to be so grateful that you took the steps you're taking now.

And that isn't just for again, that's not just for new artists.

Maybe you're an established artist, but you're considering opening a gallery or you're considering doing residencies or grants that you've never done.

Those things might still feel that way because they're new to you.

But don't be afraid to take those messy steps to fine tune your applications.

Whatever it is that you need to do, you are going to be so glad you start doing it now.

I can't remember the exact quote, but I think the quote says something like the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.

The second best time is now.

So think about that with your career.

See how that mindset shift when you think about that.

And that's exactly what we're talking about today.

So maybe, maybe you set up a mantra for your year.

I like to do this.

I usually have a few words or a mantra.

This year, the mantra that I am working with, I'm trying to remind myself this every day to start out my day and say today is going to be a great day.

And it helps prime my mind to look for the good things.

And so that's what mantras help do?

They help to prime our mind, help to shift our perspective.

And so the first, I wrote this on my whiteboard on my fridge, and the first day that I woke up and was surprised to see it there because it was new.

It really did.

I was just, you know, tired in the morning, grabbing out the milk for my coffee, and I looked up and saw today is going to be a great day.

And it literally made me smile.

And I thought, today is going to be a great day.

And it was.

So think about if there's a mantra or a phrase or a quote that you want to reflect on this year to help guide you.

Those can be really helpful to set those intentions.

Now, I want to say something about positive thinking, because I do think when we approach things with positivity, it can be incredibly impactful.

It helps us to keep from getting frustrated, burned out, all of these things.

But I have had experiences in the past where I tried to be positive in situations that were not good that I had the power to change or step out of.

And so I would think of things like the quote.

It's not the weight of the load you carry, it's the way you carry the load.

But the reality is, sometimes it's not about mindset.

Positive thinking doesn't replace boundaries.

It doesn't replace being treated well.

And optimism should never be used to tolerate situations that are harming your well being, whether that's mentally, physically, or emotionally.

Don't try to positive think yourself out of a bad situation.

Instead maybe go back up to that.

It's not the smooth seas that make for a strong sailor.

You are developing the skills to get out of those situations so you can have power in your life.

Mindset is about clarity, direction, and self respect.

It's about knowing who you want to be and where you want to go and heading in that direction.

And if you can build that with some joy and optimism and enthusiasm, that's a great, great thing.

One other thing that I've started recently that I want to share is that I have switched out a lot of my podcasts for podcasts about optimism and hope and good news and things like that, because I think it's so easy for us to get bogged down with whatever negativity is around us.

And if we're constantly, that's all that's coming into our head.

That's kind of what we're feeding our heart.

And so if we can turn to some positivity, if we can turn to some things that help bring joy and community into our lives.

I think that that is is making a big difference for me.

And I would encourage you to consider maybe replacing a little bit of the negativity that you're feeding into yourself if you are with some sort of positivity.

So just remember, mindset is so important to your career.

It's so important to how you feel.

And you do have a lot of power over your mindset.

If you feel stuck, please speak with a therapist to help you get unstuck.

They have so many tools that they can help you with, but you are building something, meaning are building something that matters.

And you are allowed to come into this year with confidence and positivity and energy and forward momentum and pursue your goals with passion.

Don't forget, today is going to be an amazing day.