How to claim your creative identity (without waiting for permission)

Stop qualifying yourself as an 'aspiring' writer or artist and own who you already are

At my recent group coaching masterclass on creative identity, there was a buzz in the virtual room. I always love this moment during my masterclasses when I can see everyone busy writing things down, nodding their heads. I’d asked them at the start to say aloud, or put in the chat the end of the sentence that started with ‘I am…’

Initially, everyone was hesitant. There were many reasons why they hesitated, and they’re not the only ones. We talked about why it is harder for creatives to call themselves a ‘writer’, ‘jeweller’, ‘artist’, or ‘creative’ than to use one of the many other identifiers like ‘mum’, ‘accountant’, ‘marketer’, etc.

I recently spoke with an author whose book came out about five years ago and she asked if she could still call herself an author. I’m sure you can guess what my response was (hell, yeah).

So why is it so hard for creatives to step into and own their creative identity?

The thing at the base of it is around mindset beliefs. The ones that limit us, that block us and the ones that hold us from becoming who we really want to be.

During the masterclass and the exercises within, I noticed a shift. A very powerful shift where the writers and artists stopped qualifying their identities with words like ‘aspiring’ or ‘trying to be’. They began to claim who they are, right now, without waiting for permission. That minimising language (’just’, ‘only’ …) began to loosen and dissolve. Hurrah!

It was a great masterclass that had a good half hour of Q&A at the end. I am always so energised afterwards when I have borne witness to mindset shifts.

One participant said it perfectly: I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me I’m allowed to call myself a writer. I just realised the only person who can give me that permission is me.

Here are some notes from the masterclass and exercises that may help you to make some shifts in what you call yourself.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash