The gap of doubt, how do YOU get out?!

[linziellen]

Me again!How often/if at all do you fall down the self doubt gap in the floorboards...and how do you get back up and out again? Please no vacuum cleaner jokes Lol The more I explore my artistic/creative side the more I wonder about my song ideas, there are times - especially right after writing my lyrics down I think "Yeah this is great" and then I go read a few of the wonderful songs that "fit" as described in a previous thread and start to think twice about my own.My style of writing is not so unlike that of maybe Dido with a little bit of Regina Spektor thrown in there (just I'm probably not quite as good as they are) . I know it's not the best idea to compare and I do also feel my work is original, yet at the same time relatively simple. I don't know what I'm trying to say here lol!I don't doubt my voice or my music and my lyrics are pretty nifty (I think) but what if I'm literally running a one man band?!See, I need to go vacuum!Thanks for any thoughts.Lindsey.I suspect someone will tell me to get posting my stuff up in here! Maybe I should but I want to try and take it to the furthest point I possibly can before hand. Also I think I should add that I'm doing this because I love it, it's my passion, it's not a pain in the ass!

[squids]

Hey Lindsey!Well, I wish I had the answer foi ya. But I don't. LOL.Post your stuff! Encouragement helps a lot to ease doubts. I have them, everyone has them sometimes (I bet even matto has them and possibly johnnydean and steve gilbert although that might be less likely ). Hard work can sometimes make them go away. Exposure to feedback (not jes good feedback either), can too. Barring those things, self-doubt can have a basis in reality if you're not sure you're doing what you truly want to. If you love music, see above.I just dragged myself out of a slump recently and it turns out it wasn't even real! I had strep throat (my thanks to the Academy, my agent, my daughter who brought it home from school..... ) so it was slowly eating away at my resources and making me feel a little out of it and blue, which I took to mean that I was insane to be in school, I absolutely suck at music and my hair color is totally wrong for me. So there're all sorts of reaons for self-doubt, see what I'm sayin'? Best thing to do is to find out if you want to learn new things about it and grow and change (painful? yes! cool? yes!) (which means posting your stuff or just keep submitting) or if you want it to be something you do for fun.

[davewalton]

Quote:I know it's not the best idea to compare and I do also feel my work is original, yet at the same time relatively simple. I don't know what I'm trying to say here lol!I don't doubt my voice or my music and my lyrics are pretty nifty (I think) but what if I'm literally running a one man band?!Hi Lindsey,Nothing wrong with a one-man band... lots of them here on the boards. I know you don't want to post stuff until it's ready but I think that self-doubt comes from not really knowing where you stand musically and what issues need to be addressed. If you know for sure, for example, that your music is really good but your lyrics need work, then I don't think self-doubt can make its way in. You already know that your music is good and when someone says "lyrics need work" it's no surprise... you already know that and you can address it by working to improve your lyrics or by co-writing with someone who is good at lyrics. Kind of methodical but I think that self-doubt comes where we're operating emotionally in kind of a dark vacuum (had to get that word in ) rather than methodically with lots of feedback and information.Even if it's not totally ready for prime-time in your mind, probably posting a few of your tracks will help. Keeping in mind that these are either unfinished, roughed-out or incomplete in some way, you'll get good, constructive feedback from forum members. If you know where you stand and what you need to do to get where you're going then self-doubt won't be much of an issue. Who knows... you might just blow us all away. Wouldn't be the first time (Squid ).Even with all that, self-doubt always creeps in but at least it's kept more in check and not allow to run completely amuk with our magic magnifying minds. Your music psychologist,Dr Dave.

[Casey H]

I'm not sure we ever get out of self-doubt. We just learn to control it. I've been in a "lack of confidence" phase for months now when it comes to what I write but, with the help and encouragement of friends here I am working through it. It's "easy for me to say" while this is my own struggle too, but try to get the fun back in it. It was all fun for me until pitching on a "professional" level made me over-analyze everything to death and not finish things. So... I am trying to finish some songs, knowing that the lyrics (for example) aren't ideal. But finish, let it sit, and then come back and refine after it has slept a while.Also, step back and think of all the positive things that have been said about or have happened with your music. Anything from good comments in a critique to a forward, to a deal, to a placement. It doesn't matter how big or small. Let each positive reaffirm that you have talent.BTW, have I heard any of your music? Public or private feedback available... Warmest,Casey

[hummingbird]

Quote:How often/if at all do you fall down the self doubt gap in the floorboards...and how do you get back up and out again? Quite often. This past week, almost every day. Probably be the same next week.Quote:The more I explore my artistic/creative side the more I wonder about my song ideas, there are times - especially right after writing my lyrics down I think "Yeah this is great" and then I go read a few of the wonderful songs that "fit" as described in a previous thread and start to think twice about my own.Ah, but that's the little editor in you that likes to whisper things like 'see, you''ll never be like (insert artist)'; 'who are you kidding'; 'why don't you just give up & spend your time knitting'.Quote:My style of writing is not so unlike that of maybe Dido with a little bit of Regina Spektor thrown in there (just I'm probably not quite as good as they are) . I know it's not the best idea to compare and I do also feel my work is original, yet at the same time relatively simple. I don't know what I'm trying to say here lol!Your style of writing right now is your style of writing right now. Simple is often good. Believe me, for I am 'she who has too many ideas in one piece'.Quote:I don't doubt my voice or my music and my lyrics are pretty nifty (I think) but what if I'm literally running a one man band?!I don't understand the question.... Quote:I suspect someone will tell me to get posting my stuff up in here! Maybe I should but I want to try and take it to the furthest point I possibly can before hand. I know what you're saying - you want it to be really really really good before you post it. And I'm like that too. But I also know that if I get too attached to it that I will not be able to listen to the feedback of my peers and learn something valuable about how to make my music more accessible or better composed.Of course we don't to post something and have it represent us as being wanting in some department of songwriting. But I wonder if we could get the ego out of the way, and post anyway, and get a different perspective on our work... would we not grow from that experience.I'v been posting this & other sites for a good 4 years or so... I've had egg on my face a few times.... I submitted stuff to Taxi when I first joined that... well, the memory of what I submitted makes me squirm. But all I could do was (and all I can do is) be where I am and allow that this artform is a process like any other, and I cannot judge myself for knowing what I know and not knowing what I don't know yet. All I know is that I am better writer today than I was last month. And part of the reason I am, is the continued support and thoughtful feedback that I get on this board.Quote:Also I think I should add that I'm doing this because I love it, it's my passion, it's not a pain in the ass!Isn't it? Then why do we struggle with so many doubts? Aren't we creative & passionate & focussed on the lives of our creations while riding on a sea of doubt? I think doubts are part of the creative process. The trick is to recognize it is your active activity in spite of doubts that moves you forward. When in doubt.... write.Hummin'bird "In a sense, as we are creative beings, our lives become our work of art." ~Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way)

[dcandco]

Hey Linds, Learning to listen to your music from the audiences view, helps alot. Picture yourself driving & listening to the radio and hearing it for the first time, what would your reaction be, would the words make sense? Would it make you dance in your seat, would you be singing it or humming it after it was done? Questions like that. But self doubt will crawl in sometimes, and it's probably a good check and balance system anyhow, because when you think you know it all, life will prove that you don't.Dave

[sgs4u]

Quote:Me again!I don't doubt my voice or my music and my lyrics are pretty nifty (I think) but what if I'm literally running a one man band?!See, I need to go vacuum!Thanks for any thoughts.Lindsey.I suspect someone will tell me to get posting my stuff up in here! Maybe I should but I want to try and take it to the furthest point I possibly can before hand. Well L, You'll notice if you haven't already that these kind of subjects (states of mind), gather a lot of responses quickly. Obviously, there are a lot of pople who feel the same as you, and also a lot of people that care about helping other people get thru these barriers. As far as anyone here knows, you are running a one-man band. Until you show us some music, I figure that is almost everyone's assumption.You titled the thread, "How Do You Get Out." Sometimes people need a temporary shift, like taking a shower. Some people also use freezing cold showers to clear the mind. Some people like Anthony Robbins, and Wayne Dyer. Some people shift focus to doing something they're already really great at.Whatever your heart needs, will become clear to you. Just know that self-doubt is temporary. It is also an essential part of the growth we need, to become more like that perfect and prolific artist we all believe ourselves can be. Without self doubt, there is very little capacity to learn new information. My personal quest to stretch my mind and abilities, includes exorcising the self-doubt almost daily. Sometimes I even let it squirt out here, and get away with it. There is no way to completely alleviate all of my self doubt. I have learned that it will always be there, and to expect it, without being scared of it.You see this is the real ticket out. If you allow yourself to create extra drama because of your fear, then that's when you need to understand yourself better. There is a point, it's different for everyone where we go overboard, and actually start moving backwards. It is the whining. When we whine, all growth and forward progress stops. Allow yourself to be vulnerable, without telling yourself it's wrong to be that way. Because you're perfect, just the way you are, and you are willing to grow. That's all there is.

[Mark Kaufman]

How many times have you listened to your song the night before and loved it, but the next morning it disappoints?Happens constantly.Luckily you love making songs, so that alone should pull you through.But there are those moments... Just keep moving. They pass.

[hummingbird]

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." ~Richard L. Evans

[mazz]

Everytime I get a writing assignment I feel a wave of self doubt. Being in a position to have to produce something by a certain time has taught me how to cope with it. Then when it's written, I have to submit it to see if it fits the specs and if the feedback comes back that it doesn't, I can't wallow, I have to make it work or scrap it and write a new one.But the thrill is knowing that I didn't let the doubt stop me and the feeling of growth that comes just by putting it out there is pretty awesome.You'll never be (fill in the blank) because you're not them. But they're not you, either. Everyone here that has responded has had nothing but supportive things to say and I know if you put some of your stuff out here, even if you think it's not ready, the simple act of doing that will help set you free. And this is a pretty gentle crowd, we'll tell you the truth as we see it but we won't put you down. We're all equals here, some have more experience than others but that's about it.We've all been there and I continue to be there with the self doubt thing and I'm living proof that it can be managed.Mazz