As an artist, you are likely very excited and hopeful about your newfound passion and direction regarding the plan to reach your outlined goals. However, the fact is that not everyone is going to support your journey. Additionally, some may even doubt or discourage your journey.
Also as an artist, it can be disheartening when friends and family donât support your passion and career. It is natural to want the people closest to you to understand and appreciate what you do. Unfortunately, others may not fully understand the importance of your work and they may have concerns about the practicalities of pursuing a creative path in the arts. This lack of support can sometimes be a burden to deal with mentally and emotionally. There may be a variety of reasons why your loved ones don’t understand or fully support your passion and it’s important to approach the situation with empathy and understanding.
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In this blog, I’ll discuss the difference between those who do not care for your passion versus those who do not support your passion. I will also outline strategies for dealing with friends and family showing such traits. Furthermore, Iâll explain how to navigate difficult conversations in a way that maintains your relationships and allow you to stay true to your dreams.
Without further ado, letâs get started.
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We frequently believe that our loved ones will always be there for us and take care of us when we need it the most. However, this isn’t always the case. Some of our loved ones might not be able to offer the support we require, while others may not want to genuinely be there for us. It can be challenging to distinguish between these two categories of family members, but in order to navigate them successfully, it is crucial to be aware of the particular difficulties they each pose. Dealing with non-supportive or non-caring loved ones can both be unpleasant experiences and have adverse effects on our well-being. Thankfully, however, with the correct understanding of the two, you may discover ways to deal with these challenging connections and get the support you need elsewhere.
What does it mean when your friends and family donât care about your artistic passion? Not caring in this instance, means that your friends or family are not giving you much thought during their busy everyday schedule. In Phase 2 of the ArtistMap, I illustrate this by asking you to ponder the following:Â
âDid you wake up this morning thinking about your favorite artist and how their art journey is going?â
The same way you probably didnât think about your favorite artistâs journey is the same way in which most people probably didnât think about your journey. Realistically, it is unlikely that people will think about your journey because they have their own problems to deal with. Therefore, for others to not care about your journey is a very common reality that you have to accept.
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Non-supportive loved ones, on the other hand, come in two forms:Â
Active bashers are individuals that directly insult or dismiss your dreams of becoming an artist. In this instance, if you tell your peers or friends about your newfound passion for the arts, they may dismiss this idea by laughing, mocking, or even insulting you. Typical responses of active bashers may include:
These comments can be very hurtful and discouraging to your journey, especially when they come from your friends or family.
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Passive bashers have a more subtle way of dismissing your dreams. If you were to tell a passive basher about your dreams or passion, they may say something like: âHmm, coolâ. They typically will not show further interest or inquire about your passion. This in turn can make you and those around you feel uncomfortable and even awkward at that specific moment. You may even regret telling them about your passion in the first place.
No matter how excited you are about your passion, passive bashers will not share the same elation as you. Here are some common traits of passive bashers:
This approach of passively bashing your dreams can sometimes make you believe that you are overthinking their behavior. Even if you confront your peers about their behavior, they may deny it and make you seem like you are crazy to think they were not supporting your dreams.Â
It is important to understand that this type of pushback is almost inevitable and a part of the artist journey. How you choose to deal with it, mentally and emotionally, will determine how far you go on your journey.
So, now that you know the difference between non-supportive and non-caring peers, how do you deal with them, mentally and emotionally? Here are two strategies to help you navigate these behaviors as you pursue your artistic journey:
We must keep in mind that not everybody in our lives will be there to support us, and that’s okay.
Some people might not have the means or emotional capacity to assist us, while others might just disagree with our decisions or our ambitions.
That being said, it’s crucial to understand that if it is a personal goal in your life, itâs your sole responsibility. You cannot control who supports you but you can control how you support yourself. Get into the habit of supporting yourself on your journey by not giving up and pushing forward no matter what others say about you.
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Lack of support should serve as motivation for your journey. Use it to fuel your creative spirit and reach new heights in your journey. However, do this because you are on a mission to become a better version of yourself.Â
Do not use this fuel in a vengeful way to get back at those that didnât support you. This motive protrudes negative energy and does not work out in your favor in the long run. Your journey should not be about proving your peers wrong. This is a limiting mindset. On the contrary, it should be about proving yourself to be right. If you truly believe in yourself and are embarking on this journey, do the impossible. Allow yourself to believe that you are not crazy to think you can accomplish your dreams.Â
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If you have patience and keep putting in consistent work, while giving value to your peers and community over time, opportunities will surely present themselves to you. By the time you reach year seven, eight, or even year ten of your artist journey while showing great progress and consistent growth, those friends and peers who used to bash you will fade away. Your growth will be too overwhelming and painful for them to bear so they wonât want to be around you. Quite frankly, you probably wonât want to be around them either. You have to remember that you’re doing this for yourself and no one else.
Wanting your friends and family to support and admire you is sometimes asking for a lot. You cannot control how they act or feel toward your goals. As much as this might hurt you, don’t dwell on it. Understand that this is a natural part of the journey.Â
Remember that actions speak louder than words. Rather than telling others about what you are going to do, simply show them. Your results over the years will back you up and eventually, that support you’re looking for from your community, peers, and family will hopefully follow when they see those results. Always stay focused on what you need to do to reach your goals. All your goals and achievements in this journey will be the byproduct of the work, mindset, and approach you take on your artist journey.
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I hope you found this blog useful. For more information related to these topics, be sure to check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel @ 6amgroup (6AM) and follow the artist map playlist. All the links regarding artist map, 6AM, and myself are below in the channel description. If you haven’t had a chance to enroll in phase one of artist map, please do so now. It is 100 percent free. I delve deep into the concept of mindset approach and patience and I know you’ll get a ton of value out of this. My name is Jia, thank you so much for reading this blog and I hope to catch you on the next topic.
