Chapter Seven: Take Risks

　　There is no certain success when it comes to creativity. Every creative endeavor requires taking a risk. Developing creativity demands that you face your fears and act with confidence. Learning to accept yourself and ignore harmful criticism will give you the strength and confidence that you need to take the risks that creativity demands.

　　Be Confident

　　Being confident is a delicate balance that many people have difficulty keeping. On the one hand, overconfidence can lead to arrogance that causes individuals to view themselves as better or more important than other people. On the other hand, a lack of confidence causes self-doubt that will hinder creativity. Confidence is a natural state when you believe in yourself.

　　Steps to Creating Confidence:

　　• Trust yourself: Believe that you will be able to learn, grow, and accomplish your goals.

　　• Leave your comfort zone: Taking risks and trying new things will show you that you are capable of more than you realize.

　　• Accept praise: Be comfortable with well-deserved praise, but do not demand it. Refusing praise is not the same thing as humility.

　　Scared to Fail?

　　Fear of failure is more damaging than failure itself. Living in fear keeps our lives in holding patterns and we never grow. There is no reason to be afraid of failure because it is inevitable. If, however, we are able to view failure as a learning opportunity, then we can become comfortable with the idea and learn to take risks. When we are willing to take risks without fear, we open ourselves to opportunities that we would have overlooked, and we come closer to achieving our dreams.

　　Steps to Overcome Fear:

　　• Embrace mistakes

　　• Do not over think your plans

　　• Say yes to opportunities that you truly want

　　• Accept advice and help

　　Fake It Till You Make It

　　The old saying fake it till you make it is actually sound advice. From a psychological point of view, acting with the self-confidence that you want will actually help increase your confidence. If you believe that you can do something, you create a self-fulfilling prophecy. The greater your belief, the more likely you are to succeed.

　　Steps:

　　• Dress the part that you want to play.

　　• Relax and smile.

　　• Be aware of your body and posture.

　　• Use the appropriate vocabulary.

　　Afraid to Be Judged

　　Fear of failure often coincides with fear of judgment. This is nothing to fear because it is inevitable. People are judgmental, and you will face unfair criticism. You cannot allow this to control you. If you do, the fear will block your creativity. Learning to ignore naysayers and accept yourself will give you the strength to accept risks.

　　• Assess how judgmental you are: Not judging others will help you find perspective when you are judged.

　　• Look at yourself honestly: If you are honest with yourself, you will be able to discern constructive criticism from judgment.

　　• Value yourself: Your self-worth does not come from other people.

　　Overcoming the fear of judgment may require changing your mindset, but it is worth the effort.

　　Practical Illustration

　　Theresa was an accomplished dancer, but she never performed for people. She made a mistake at a recital once and never forgot the humiliation. Afraid of making a mistake again, she chose to only dance in private, which meant that she could never have a career in her passion. She continued to practice when she wasn’t working in an office. One day, a coworker suggested that she perform in a televised talent show. Part of Theresa wanted to do it, but the other part of her did not want to take the risk.

　　As she honestly assessed her past failure, however, she realized that she overreacted. She paid too much attention to people who made fun of her and never learned from the fall. She decided to take a chance and perform again. Theresa chose to perform for herself and not take her sense of worth from a group of strangers.