A confidence crash and a helping hand

I had one of those 'off a cliff' confidence dips yesterday. They happen. This plummet was about my new creativity coaching and workshop soft launch, a fierce blast of imposter syndrome. These days I am better at stepping back and observing my behaviours and the conditions that might have contributed, so I didn't panic, and took a moment.

If confidence is the brain's ability to predict a positive outcome, then of course, I'm bound to have these moments. As an illustrator, I have over 16 years of experience and many successes, so naturally, confidence over there runs much smoother.

It was also Monday, raining outside my studio window. And I was tired.

Anyway, in the evening, I had a call with Ryan Luse, who I've been working with.

This call was to get some feedback from Ryan on the 'PIT STOP' – my intensive one-to-one creativity audit.

Something he said restored my confidence. During a personal time of upheaval and uncertainty, Ryan had wondered if there was such a thing as a 'creative therapist' but hadn't been able to find one. He said that's what the 'PIT STOP' felt like, because I'd provided him with in-depth, candid notes about what I felt would help him, how it might look, and why. Honest stuff that a partner, friend, family member, or even an actual therapist might not say.

I'm not about to start adding 'therapist' into my title because I'd need to go and get some qualifications for that, but a part of the reason I've taken this path, why I feel so impassioned about helping people is because I'm a highly sensitive person who cares about the wellbeing of others. I do this for free on my local dog walk. I did it for heartbroken teenage friends in the late 1990s. It's who I am, except now, I've fortified it with 20 or so years of immersion in the creative industry and ongoing study of the human condition and the role of creativity in fulfilling lives.

This is not about telling someone which job to go for, how to get promoted, or make money. It's about helping them better understand who they are at their core. What makes them tick, what's holding them back, and how they might take charge of all the good, bad, and weird bits, starting right now.

Great creativity and well-suited careers rarely happen until this self-awareness and inner authority are in place.

It's been thrilling to spend time with a guy as talented as Ryan. He's very self-aware and incredibly smart, a California-based motion designer among many other talents. He was already deep into a period of introspection and positive change when we connected through my show, 'The Creative Condition' podcast, and we felt it could be great to work together.

It felt incredible to help him see the wood for the trees because let's face it, who has the time to get out of the way of their own sh1t without some objective outside help?!

Without that help from my many saviours over the years, and to this very day, Ryan being the latest, I'd still be... you know what I mean.

Anyway, I'm feeling better now and I'm keen to get out there with my 'Session' workshop and help more people through the 'PIT STOP', so get in touch here or at [email protected] if you think this might work for you or your business!

You can read through both pdf documents which will explain how each one works here. Let's chat!

The new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map is now available at https://bentallonwriter.com/shop