Tips with getting out of the result-oriented mentality?
6:13 AM, Saturday January 9th 2021
Thought it'd be good to have a topic on here where people share advice on getting out of the result-oriented mentality, so they can get to enjoy drawing for its own sake.
What I do, besides sticking to the 50/50 rule, is this...
- Use exercises from David D Burns's book Feeling Good, such as the TIC TOC and Triple Column Techniques
1a. These involve writing down and confronting your self-destructive thinking, shooting it down to weaken its influence on you
- Don't be afraid to spend a good chunk of the non-exercise time on fixing your breathing when it gets uncomfortable. I myself often get short of breath while drawing, so I often spend ~10-second bursts trying to correct my breathing, to help avoid panic attacks and other physical pain that happens
2a. This applies to practicing the techniques from the aforementioned book. The purpose is to be able to enjoy drawing, so of course shooting down your negative automatic thoughts would be an important part of that
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Try to find charm in your drawings, whether they're going well or not. "This drawing is godawful, but at least it's kind of cute?"
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Force yourself to practice good posture, even when it hurts (as it often does for me)
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Keep reminding yourself that you're not supposed to be making good artwork in these sessions; any good results that come out of it are happy accidents, not requirements