6 Kick-Ass Benefits of Being An Artist (+ 6 challenges)
I’d never actively considered the benefits of being an artist or a musician. It was always just part of my personality – my whole schtick. So when I sat down and drafted this post, I was pleasantly surprised to realize just how many awesome things we’ve got going for us.
So, welcome.
Personally, I’ve been making art and music for the past 2+ decades and I’ve noticed a lot of sweet advantages to this creative lifestyle. So I put together this kick-ass list.
BUT, there are also some challenges and disadvantages of being a musician or artist. Yin and yang – ebb and flow. You know how it goes. We can’t have the one without the other.
Luckily, these downfalls are no match to the benefits.
So let’s skip the small talk. Let’s jump in and peruse these perks I speak of.
6 Benefits of Being An Artist or Musician
Being a creative is fun and an awesome life to pursue. And a lot of the benefits are kind of hard to explain, or feel a bit intangible.
So what are the benefits of being an artist or musician? Here are a few of my top choices.
(Of course, if you’ve got any more ideas let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear them!)
1. Communication Skills
Art is all about self expression and communicating ideas and emotions. We just tend to use pictures, paintbrushes, sounds and other artistry to express those concepts.
So as an artist, you’re constantly strengthening communication skills.
Studies have actually shown that practicing art also enhances phonological awareness, perception of complex topics and storytelling.
So whatever your thing is, you’re likely communicating something and improving this social asset in the process.
2. A Creative, Growth Mindset
Musicians are creative. (Yea, duh, thanks dude, hah)
But it’s that creativity that also supports a growth mindset. We can see setbacks and “failures” as learning moments and opportunities. It’s quite the awesome soft skill to have.
We rarely see a song as finished and perfect. We’re always changing and adapting it and on the lookout for pivotal tweaks that turn a meh tune into an absolute banger.
We’re always assessing our performance and skills, looking for ways to improve. We create inspiration and swim with ideas. We covet outlandish dreams and see the potential in everything.
The future is our making. That’s the mindset (and probably a little bit of imposter syndrome to go on the side).
Bottom line, musicians and artists are growth oriented – whether you realize it or not.
3. Self Awareness + Self-Confidence
Putting yourself out isn’t always easy. It takes courage and a belief in yourself. It takes confidence.
Especially performing on stage or in front of a camera. Pouring your heart out and fine-tuning your vocal runs – one missed note at a time – it takes spunk! Moxie!
Luckily, the more we do the things that make us uncomfortable, the better we get and the more confident we get – in and outside of music.
4. Brain Health
Art has been shown to increase serotonin levels, enhance brain function, improve memory and increase blood flow to certain parts of the brain.
And Scientific American further explains that playing music engages all areas of the brain and promotes neuroplasticity, boosts your memory, supports healthy brain aging and activates reward processing.
Pretty sweet. So you’re saying my brain is like, super good? Right?
5. Mental Health: Emotional Processing + Stress Relief
Music is therapy. I won’t go into the whole psychology of it, but you’ve likely heard about the benefits of music therapy for mental health.
Musical expression is a fantastic destressor and promotes mental health. For me, it’s a bit like meditation.
Creating music and singing always takes my mind off of things – my personal therapist. Similar to painting, or filming and adventuring outside.
Self expression and stress management can be fantastic benefits of being a musician. It’s like a secret tool that you can lean on any time you’re feeling pressured and on edge.
6. Improved Focus
Have you ever heard of flow state? It’s a bit of a buzzword these days – especially in the creative fields.
Essentially, it’s a state of complete focus and involvement in the task at hand. You lose track of time and sense of yourself. You’re in the zone.
It’s a great place to be. And art is one of the best ways to get into this state of mind.
Personally, I tend to use art as not just an expression of my ideas, but also as meditation. I always get lost in what I’m doing and my mind drifts. I’m completely focused.
You know how it is.
Bonus Benefit: You Get Away With Being Weird
Artists, musicians, creatives – we have more fun. We can get weird. We make deeper connections, see outside boxes and have a flare for self expression.
It’s cathartic to be weird. It’s liberating to be yourself.
From fashion and creativity to personality and artistic style, it’s almost as if society expects a bit of weirdness from their creatives.
I mean that’s fine, I’ll take it.
Of course, that’s not saying you need to be “weird” or stereotypically different. But I guess what I really mean is, creating great art requires honest self awareness and expression and tends to point out social oddities and nuances.
This tends to result in standing out from the masses as an artist. To go against the grain. To challenge assumptions and ways of thinking or seeing the world.
Often, this can all come across as being a bit weird or different.
Woo!
6 Challenges and Disadvantages of Being An Artist or Musician
I guess we need to cover a few of the elephants…
After all, being a creative isn’t always sunshine with benefits bursting at the seams. I mean, it’s more good than bad, of course. But, still.
So here are a few disadvantages I’ve noticed over the years.
1. Perfectionism
I think most people struggle with this – to some degree. But as creatives, there’s this persistent background voice whispering softly “ehhh, that’s not quite good enough”.
There’s a pattern to songwriting (and art). At least for me, the process goes something like this:
This new idea is tight
I don’t feel like finishing this new idea
This idea is actually pretty sh*t
What’s this? A new and better thing?
(Forgets about original thing)
…gets bored again with the second (or third, etc.) thing
…comes back to the first idea and remembers, oh yea this thing is tight!
See step 2
I suppose this is the importance of discipline. But all we can do keep moving forward and strive to overcome that feeling of inadequacy.
Because chances are, it’s all in your head.
2. Social Pressure + Content Burnout
There’s a certain social pressure to always be creating, posting, making and doing (or to be creating a certain style). This is especially true if you start growing a following online.
And for the most part, it’s actually pretty cool that people want more from you.
But we live in a goldfish-content society, where more is better and the competition is fierce.
Some even suggest you need to be making 100 pieces of content a day (like, huh??). I mean, we can get clever with things – cross-promoting, splicing up videos and reusing content – but I’m only one human person. Dammit.
Especially with music. I’ll get into the habit of posting consistently – but I inevitably end up taking long breaks and time off. Keeping the motivation is always a struggle.
And the pressure to not do that is real – content burnout is real.
3. Unpredictability
Unpredictability is the name of the game. Whether it’s your client list, work schedule or income, being an artist means you’ve got a certain amount of volatility.
But then again, I also prefer this uncertainty. It’s routine and schedule security that tends to get me more bored and anxious.
But luckily, we’re living in a pretty amazing time as creatives. We have so many tools, resources and free platforms literally at our fingertips.
I mean, you know this.
But it’s good to remember how different things used to be not so long ago.
So while there are no more gatekeepers (or at least, less gatekeepers), we also need to be wearing many hats and constantly be learning various business strategies, marketing tactics and content methods.
It’s not always easy. It’s not always pretty. But I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
4. Mental Health Risk – Dealing With the ‘Haters’
Naysayers gonna naysay. There’s no way around it.
And we all know the advice, the solution – just ignore them. The only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing, say nothing and be nothing.
Easier said than done.
Prioritizing our happiness and mental health is crucial (musician or not). But as creatives, we’re sort of on full display – and the temptation to read all the comments (or the lack thereof) is near impossible to suppress all the time.
So, as an artist, I argue that we’re at a higher risk of being affected by negativity, criticism and the internet in general.
But just remember you’re not alone and internet trolls are usually unhappy themselves. As Gary Vee puts it, have compassion for them – and then move on.
5. Not Being Taken Seriously As A Career Goal
Becoming a full time artist or musician is the dream (right?).
Well, yes. But it’s way more feasible these days. As I mentioned above in #2, we have so many entrepreneurial paths at our disposal as creatives.
From blogging, to YouTubing, to creating digital courses or selling merch – all on automation – we’ve got some serious options as artists and musicians.
But communicating this as a viable option isn’t always simple. Because yes, it is a “risk”, compared to a secure job with all the benefits and insurance. But at what cost? What of my dreams, I ask!?
Well, I say who cares what others think or lack to understand – let’s all just keep at it, we got this.
6. Logistical Issues
Being an artist or musician carries with it certain logistical woes.
For example, traveling and taking vacations presents a unique problem. Most people don’t understand this, but it’s a pain point I’ve always dealt with.
Extra bags for my instruments and art tools
Disappearing to play music and being “antisocial”
Feeling on edge because I can’t practice my daily singing without annoying the hell out of everyone in the old cottage with paper-thin walls
etc.
Especially if you’re balancing a full time job, school or a family – being an artist and creating awesome things is often and largely driven by mood and in-the-moment creative emotions.
You know how it goes, you’re sitting in traffic on your way to work or school when an absolute banger of a song (or art) idea pops in your head.
You pull over, to jot down the concept on a notepad or in your Voice Memos app.
But dammit, no guitar, no time to dig deeper. You’ll have come back to it later (when the inspiration has fizzled…).
It’s an annoyance for sure not being able to capitalize on creativity 24/7.
But on a positive note, we do have a lot of awesome modern tools to jot down ideas or get concepts out quick.
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