Living a creative life can be intimidating, a path wrought with self doubt and fear. So one of my core values has become courage.
Courage to try the hard thing.
Courage to do the right thing.
Courage to keep going in the face of setbacks.
The list could go on and on. Every time I do a live painting demo or show my work at an exhibition, I feel pretty exposed. My paintings carry my emotions and a glimpse into my inner thought life, and it can feel pretty vulnerable to expose that to others.
As researcher Brene Brown put it so well, "Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome."
I love this quote because all that really matters in life is that we have the courage to show up. There will always be factors that are outside of our control, but if we put ourselves out there, something magical just may come of it too.