Actually it’s not just limited to the three hobbies (or professions) in the title. This post is relevant to anyone who has a talent or skill they feel is being under-utilised and would like to develop further. This, of course, is where Life Coaching comes in. “How so?” I hear you ask…

Getting rid of the creative block

It’s a term most often bandied about by writers but all those of an artistic nature can suffer from the block – or stultifying of ideas. To creative types a ‘block’ can be one of the worst possible scenarios especially if, as a working artists or writer, you have a print deadline or a commission on a piece of work. If so, you literally can’t afford to have a block and need to learn how to get rid of it. In doing so you should be able to prevent it developing in the first place.

How can a life coach help?

“She’s not an artist she doesn’t even understand my art…”. Well, we don’t have to. That’s because it’s not your ‘art’ that’s making you blocked but something else going on in your own life and the way you view the world. By altering your perceptions – both of the world and those around you – you should be able to rid yourself of that block.

Clarifying your professional artistic goals

What’s your working habits like? Do you stay up all night because that’s when you feel most creative? We’re thinking writers and artists here rather than musicians! If so, and you want to make a living from your art, maybe that’s something you can look at changing? That’s because in order to market yourself you have to be available when the rest of the world is. Life coaching can also be a matter of helping you to manage your time better, allowing you to get a grip on that oft-used phrase these days – work/life balance.

Coping with performance anxiety

This is a biggie for those with an artistic bent, especially when they have to perform in public (the musician, actor etc). Of course other people suffer from fear about their work too – the difference is they don’t have an audience of hundreds watching, and often having paid good money to do so. Therefore for the performer the stakes feel so much higher.
But really it’s all about coping with that internal critic – the one who produces those negative thoughts. We have to learn to answer him or her back and show them that their fear isn’t based on reality. It’s also about finding out where that fear came from in the first place and finding a way to deal with it so that it doesn’t limit what you would like to potentially achieve. Once you’ve identified the fear’s origin and understood it, it becomes so much easier to alter those negative automatic thoughts into positive ones.