Creating for confidence!

We all struggle with confidence levels at some point in our life, for some it is worse than others. I had always felt uncomfortable around people or crowds and for various reasons put myself down frequently. I am good at lots of things, however the low self esteem and confidence always found a way to undermine my personality and I felt weak and pathetic.

One of my talents is a flair for arts and crafts, I have enjoyed drawing and painting since I was a child! I love the concentration part of creating things, and especially love the praise and admiration that I receive when showing my finished piece off! For some reason though, I think maybe due to being busy with school and friends, I stopped drawing and painting for a good few years which is around the same time that my confidence and esteem hit the floor.

I realised then that we humans NEED to be challenged and overcome obstacles in order to feel powerful and worthwhile, and that creative hobbies can be the ideal form of challenge! They are also good for taking our minds off of difficult subjects. When you are creating you do not have to think about your problems other than how you will develop the picture, form the right shape, mix the right colour or attach the sequins to the fabric etc! You can express feelings that you find hard to find words for through art, and have the chance to inspire other people through your work as well.

The confidence comes when you hold up your finished piece and nod satisfactorily to yourself and think 'wow I made that!' As I mentioned previously the icing on the cake is when you get the same impressed reaction from friends and family, or from visitors at an art show or craft fair! It was through these sort of endeavours of my own that I came to realise just how important our hobbies and interests are for our wellbeing. Its strange that I can dislike crowds as I said before and feel weak and pathetic, but completly forget about it when I'm talking to someone about my art work and stand proud with shoulders back and head held high!

I now make sure that I regularly challenge myself with different creative and educational projects to keep my confidence up at a healthy level. When we overcome challenges we unlock a little voice inside that says 'if I can do that, I can do anythng!' but our minds are quick to move on and forget about those triumphs and often worries and doubts will start to affect us agin. So you just do something else! Anything can be achieved if we set our minds to it! And when you see the world through 'artists eyes' everything can also be beautiful and wonderful to look at or experience!

So if you are feeling down, have low confidence or esteem or are just stuck in a rut, get yourself some basic supplies and take up an art hobby. There is so much that can be created in the world of arts and crafts, as it is all down to your imagination!

Visit www.learntodraw.weebly.com if you would like to learn how to draw from scratch! Most importantly however, have fun with your hobby and let your confidence soar!

Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams