Upgrade Your Artistic Self-Image

by David Andrew Wiebe | Dec 24, 2021 | Creativity

My colleague and friend, Greg Wilnau of Musician Monster, once said to me:

You know how confidence is gained? By setting and achieving goals.

As someone who has wrestled with the very idea of setting and achieving goals, this was challenging.

My frustration stemmed from goals set and not reached. Whenever I read about goal setting in a book, it always sounded so sexy and magical. “Write it down and it will happen.” Why did it feel like such drudgery in real life? Why wasn’t I getting what I truly wanted out of the process?

But the truth is, we all go through disappointment. So, how long do you want to stay stuck in the past? Whatever happened then is not happening now. You’ve got to engage in the present like it was brand new.

Eventually, what I realized was that you’ve got to look at the progress you’ve made based on the actions you’ve taken (while acknowledging what you have achieved). Otherwise, your feelings are running the show, and they don’t have much of a place in the objective world of Specific, Measurable, Attainable (and Actionable), Relevant, and Time-based goals.

Either way, consider that what Greg said is 100% true.

What is your plan for upgrading your self-image and confidence in the next 90 days?

As you know, I’m big on 90-day goals, and while you can break them down into smaller parts, I don’t want to hear about any goals that can’t be put into 90-day containers, because it’s either too aggressive or too onerous. Try sustaining your focus on one thing for longer than 90 days and let me know how it works out. The human brain wants to wander, find relief or variety, look for something else.

A goal is just a game, and a game is created. You’re the one making the rules. And that means you can always set yourself up to win.

If you’re not ready for an aggressive goal, no problem. Start with something small like “for the next 90 days, I will go for a 30-minute walk five days per week.” That’s a SMART goal.

If Greg is right, attaining that first goal should increase your self-belief. So, the only thing left to do is to set increasingly aggressive goals that are especially relevant to where you are in your career and what you want to achieve. Keep setting up more games and focus on their achievement.

You won’t win every time, but even if you don’t win, there will always be something to learn.

Quick reminder – you can now get The Music Entrepreneur Code – 2022 Edition (just in time for the holidays). Don’t get left behind – be the first to get my latest work into your hands!