Your inner critic is getting in the way of your creativity and your artistic expression

Do you know the feeling? You sit in front of your canvas, your paper, your clay - and then the thoughts come:

"Is it good enough? Beautiful enough? Right enough?"
"What if it turns out ugly?"
"I'm not as good as..."
"What if they find out I can't do anything?"

You are not alone. As an artist, I have struggled with these thoughts myself - from the moment I started making a living from art until my sick leave in 2025. The inner critic can be so powerful that it stops us completely before we even get started.

When the mind interferes...

Creating CAN be as easy as child's play. Think about how children create. Children create freely, without thinking about whether it is "good enough". But it is something completely different to create as an adult. My experience is that many actually don't dare - or can't, because it feels too overwhelming. We judge, compare, and criticize - especially ourselves.

The paradox is: the more we think about our creativity, the harder it becomes to create. Overthinking and self-criticism stifle the flow. I can say this because I myself have been blocked 80% of the time for the past many years. But fortunately, not anymore. And now I MUST help others.

3 signs that your inner critic is taking up too much space:

1. You postpone getting started

You have the materials ready, but always find a reason to wait. "I just need to research more," "I'm missing the right paper," "I'm not in the right mood."

2. You constantly compare yourself to others

You scroll through Instagram and think: "I can never be that good...". You see others' works and feel inadequate. You don't believe your expression - as it is - has value or justification.

3. Your results are never as you wish them to be / you never finish your works

Nothing ever feels "finished" or "good enough". Your works never turn out as you imagined. Perhaps you give up along the way? Perhaps you correct, delete, and change again and again?

What can you do?

First and foremost, you need to know that there is another way. You are not a non-creative being who perhaps should just do something else. No, if you have the creative urge and desire within you, you have everything you need.

Through my own "creative process," I have developed concrete tools to work with my inner critic. Let me challenge you a bit:

Exercise: "Like my inner child..."

Set a timer for 1 minute. During this minute, you may only reflect on what you always drew as a child. For example, I drew people - often in relation to each other - but I rarely drew animals. What did you draw? Write it down. If you can't think of anything, just continue with the exercise.

Set a timer again. This time for 5 minutes. Here you draw (as childishly as you can) the things you remembered. If nothing came to mind, draw these things:
House, ship, fish, flower, banana, cloud, flagpole, dog, sun, car, and crab...

You MUST NOT delete, change, or erase anything along the way. Nothing needs to be pretty, correct, or look a certain way. When the time is up, look at the paper. What appears? Do you draw flowers? Trees? Fish in a sea? Abstract shapes?

Do not judge it (good, bad, pretty, ugly...) but put your drawing(s) away. Feel free to repeat it several times a week.

What happens? You train your brain to create without judging and awaken something natural from your hand to life. You build a new habit: That the process is more important than the result.

My personal story

In 2025, I was on sick leave. My creativity and desire to create - what had always been my path to peace and freedom - suddenly felt like a prison of expectations and self-criticism, and I found myself blocked again and again.

It forced me to look inwards and deal with the mechanisms that arise when I sit in front of a blank piece of paper. Even as a visual artist - with an engaged audience and after several years where art had been my work - I completely lost my way. What and when did I create out of desire? Were there expectations? Could I change/shift expression? Was what I was making too... (fill in yourself). Constantly evaluating, judging, calculating - and miles away from the essence: being in the process. I had lost myself.

Through this process, I found my way back to play. To freedom. To create without my mind constantly interfering, and it almost feels like my "duty" to show others a path that is much more fun and brighter.

Do you want more?

I have gathered my personal experiences, my honest story, and 7 selected, concrete exercises that I myself use in my playshop, called "It's as easy as child's play until the mind interferes."

This is for you who:

• Loves to create but is stopped by your inner critic
• Wants more flow and freedom in your creativity
• Lacks concrete tools to get started or move forward
• Stops your dreams due to self-critical thoughts

The playshop is a PDF, ready for immediate download. It works with all materials - watercolor, acrylic, crayons, clay, ceramics, linocut... you name it. Experience and feedback tell me that it can also be translated to other creative fields. It is for you who - regardless of the field - knows what it's like to have to create SOMETHING, where the inner critic is all too eager to interfere.

Find the playshop at the bottom or click here

Let's create more freely - together.

Amanda