Motivation for Artists (10 things I do)

As creatives, motivation can be fickle. And inspiration? Let’s just say it takes impromptu vacations. But we still have some control.

These are my go-to moves for creative inspiration. This is my personal handbook on motivation for artists.

Let’s get to it.

What Is Motivation?

Motivation is our drive for reaching goals. It’s the desire to behave in certain ways and to do certain things.

Personally, I see it as the our own personal battery charger. We don’t always need to be at 100% to work, but we won’t get too far once that bar starts flashing red.

But let’s dig deeper.

Motivation 101 (benefits, types + more)

Everyone inherently understands motivation. It’s something we all experience.

But looking at it through a more analytical lens will help us to better understand things, so we can better control our motivational moments.

So this section will explore the topic at hand, its anatomy and why it’s so important for artists and creativity.

Motivation In Creativity (the benefits)

Artistic whims ebb and flow and our ability to create art based on both mood and discipline is essential. 

Truly inspired creativity doesn’t worry about motivation. It’s in the moment and acting on a complete flow state. But always seeing things through, and finishing all those projects or ideas?

Oof, I can vouch for this one – it’s hard.

So if you’re better than me at staying focused, then here are some sweet benefits you’re likely tapping into:

• Setting and reaching creative goals

• Strengthen and develop new creative skills

• Productivity and dynamism

• Handling of uncertainty

• Problem solving

• Being proactive

• Adaptability

• Healthier mental state and mindset

Types of Motivation

Not all motivation is treated the same. And scientists still haven’t agreed on a single theory to explain its origins. Still, we can split things into two main categories.

Most of us have heard of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. But here are some more formal meanings and examples.

Extrinsic Motivation

• This is motivation that comes from outside of ourselves

• Examples include money, rewards and social status or growth

Intrinsic Motivation

• This is motivation that comes from within ourselves 

• Examples include self-fulfilment, personal enjoyment and genuine satisfaction

How to Create Motivation (3 building blocks)

There’s a lot of research on motivation. We’ve been trying to decipher it for quite a while. Luckily, researchers have dialed in on three core components that make up our focus and drive.

Let’s explore them, so we can better understand and control our own motivation.

Activation

• This is the initial decision to start something or some behavior

• It’s your first step in pursuing a goal (I see it as the honeymoon phase of creativity)

Persistence

• This is the continued effort towards reaching a particular goal (despite obstacles)

• It’s your ability to stay on course (especially when we aren’t seeing results or feeling burnout)

Intensity

• This is your focus, stamina and energy for reaching your goal

• It’s the amount of effort you put in to your projects (especially if things come easy for you)

How I Stay A Motivated Artist (10 moves)

Now on to the good stuff: how to get (and stay) motivated as an artist, musician or creative.

Staying the course is essential for our growth. Reaching our awesome goals requires persistence and intensity. Even reaching those smaller goals along the way requires focus.

So below are my top tricks and moves for fostering motivation and pushing through the slow points. I’ve included some tips and advice for each concept.

Enjoy!

1. Redefine Your Success

Success is subjective. But attaching your worth to monetary values or follower numbers is going to crush our motivation. So a good way to redefine our image of success is through defining our goals and values.

When our motivation dips – and you know it will – we need something else to rely on. Defining our goals and remembering our values can go a long way in pushing through those moments of meh.

So here are some tips to use your goals and values for redefining success and fostering motivation:

• Make a list. List forms of success besides money and getting blue checkmarks

• Make it stick. Write down your goals and values and put them somewhere you’ll see or remember

• Be specific. Create specific success checkpoints based on your values

2. Master Your Mindset + Emotional State

I’ve been obsessed with mindset recently. And I know it can almost sound like a broken record. But it’s so important for mental health and motivation.

If you truly commit yourself to developing and strengthening a positive, growth-oriented, creative mindset, then amazing things will happen. And mindset is critical for controlling our emotional state,  which is equally cirtical for motivation. We need clarity to create.

Here are some key tips for developing clarity and a motivated mindset:

• Audit your inner circle. Surround yourself with more inspired and motivating artists and people

• Meditate. Visualize, connecting with the emotions of reaching your goals

• Follow your mood. Don’t feel like you need to finish everything – embrace slow-motion multitasking

3. Avoid All-Or-Nothing Thinking

We don’t need to go all in, all the time. In fact, shorter bursts of intense, concentrated and mood-driven creative work can be arguably better.

So don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you need to always be locked in with your motivation and creative work. While discipline goes a long way, avoiding complacency or burnout is also important.

Here are some tips to boost motivation by avoiding all-or-nothing thinking:

• Know your worth. Recognize and write down your strengths and achievements

• Practice positive thinking. Find the silver linings and optimism of perceived “failures”

• Welcome setbacks. Expect and accept that setbacks and imperfection are inevitable

4. Don’t Rush – Enjoy the Ride

Trying to skip ahead is doomed to fail. Or worse, expecting shortcuts to work and bring about quick success. Tt’s all kryptonite for motivation.

We should enjoy, appreciate and fall in love with the process and journey – successful people tell us this all the time. It takes a long time to be an overnight success. So patience is a virtue and appreciation is an asset.

Here are some tips to keep things in check and enjoy the ride:

• Appreciate the journey. Fall in love with doing, not finishing

• Nothing to lose. Embrace an underdog persona — it’s a lot less pressure after all

• Focus on checkpoints. Work towards checkpoints, not finish lines

5. Find Your Purpose + Assign It to Your Craft

Assigning purpose to your art or creative work is like taking a motivational supplement. It’s a quick way to provoke focus when you’re feeling artistically idle.

For me, when I’m feeling uninspired, I remember my bigger goals of using my art, travels and music to promote social awareness and change while giving more than I take. Assigning the purpose and value of your artwork to something greater is altruistic energy.

So here are some tips to define more purpose and uncover more motivation:

• Brainstorming. Find new ways to turn your artwork and creativity into social good

• Journaling. Write down your values and your why

• Meditating. Reflect and reassess your purpose and drive for pursuing art

6. Play the Part

When we’re pursuing our personal artistic goals, it can be hard to snap into motivation when we’re just not in the right headspace.

A quick hack I love to do is essentially jumping into character, and fully “playing” the role.

Here are some tips to get into character:

• Dress the part. Fashion plays a big role in our psychology and self perception

• Change your space. Audit your environment and go somewhere that fits the bill

• Monitor your inner circle. Surround yourself with like-minded people and goals

7. Audit Your Lifestyle

Our daily habits shape us — motivation included.

Living in a way that supports our creative motivation can span from the motivation-inducing foods to surrounding ourselves with more like-minded creatives.

So here are some quick tips for using lifestyle to boost your motivation:

• Brain food. Eat more brain-boosting, energy-cultivating foods

• Consult with a professional. Work with a dietitian to come up with a customized plan

• Stack the deck in your favor. Hang around more creatives and consume more inspiring content.

• Gamify things. Make your lifestyle changes a game and test things out to see what works

8. Self-Feedback + Zooming Out

There’s a phrase that comes up a lot online: when in doubt, zoom out. It’s simple and obvious – and I love it.

Essentially, what it’s saying is that we tend to be subjectively zoomed in, too comparative to far-off goals and overly critical of our progress. This can all be to the detriment of our motivation.

So zooming out and giving ourselves some positive feedback can help. Here’s how:

• Look back. Review old projects and artwork to remember how far you’ve come (or start recording yourself now for use at a later date)

• Plot your progress. Plot your current situation on a timeline (as a checkpoint) and then future checkpoints and goals (with strategies for getting to each consecutive checkpoint)

• Write things down. Jot down your strengths and weaknesses as assets and liabilities on a personal balance sheet

9. Set Simple Micro-Goals

Goal-setting is nothing new. Hell, small goal-setting is far from a novel concept. But I think we still tend to glance over this idea and not give it the attention it deserves.

I get it too, it can sound kind of generic. But leveraging simple, micro goals is a great way to build sustainable motivation. 

Here’s a way to try this one out:

• Plan ahead. Make a list of small skills, knowledge and things you’d like to accomplish

• Create urgency. Set a timer for reaching daily goals to create urgency and light gamification

10. YouTube Rabbit Holes + Passive Mentorship

Mentorship works. Inspirational videos and motivational rants are fantastic fuel – even if they only give us a short-term burst of energy.

There’s something about listening to a charismatic speaker with epic music in the background that inspires us. As “cheezy” as some of these videos can feel sometimes, they can really work for our motivation.

Here are some great videos and people that always reset my motivation:

• Gary Vee

• Tony Robbins

• This video by Jay Shetty on motivation

• And this video by Sorelle Amor on creating art successfully

---

Want More? Check Out These Sweet Reads!