Successful artists and writers–perhaps you–make conflict-free habitual use of a dominant faculty in an art form. That is, if they are painters they wish to paint without interference–conflict free. They are confident. Hockey goalies need confidence. People in the arts need confidence just as much. They paint or write, they chisel in stone. They author books. They produce beautiful works and that is the ultimate goal of art–to add to the store of works that have beauty. Art and beauty are synonymous.
But to many artists and writers it isn’t so simple: they are paralyzed by flaws in their mind and spirit that they should beware of, but often aren’t.
The Seven Flaws
Lack of immediacy: Putting off something for another time–a time which may never come at all–and not doing what we know we should do creates a pattern of lazy self-indulgence. We pamper ourselves and lose vitality. We find easy excuses and don’t demand enough of ourselves. No one said art would be easy. If we would spend less time thinking of what we want to do and more time to what we should do, we would be much better off. Each day writers, painters, actors, and dancers who avoid taking necessary action are frittering away their artistic existence, never getting around with a clear mind to the fulfilled and happy life they might have lived.
Purposelessness: Sociologists have pointed to a world population that’s alienated and adrift without the solid foundation of something meaningful to believe in. Lack of a clear idea of what exactly you’re living for is a powerful obstacle. Creatives in the arts can find meaning in their work. They can believe in it with all their heart. They are adrift no longer. When you are unbending and pursue your craft with an iron will, obstacles lose strength.
Aimlessness and indecisiveness: Some creatives are decisive and aim high, but others float listlessly through life without self-direction. They might want to make the most of their creative lives, but they can’t catch hold. They aren’t able to achieve anything that matters. They don’t set their sights on anything in particular, or contribute anything. There are people on this earth who haven’t accomplished a single noteworthy thing. They squander their most valuable possession: their talents.
Difficulty solving problems: These people wake in the morning and there the problems are. They pull the blankets up at night and there the same problems are–unresolved. While they sleep their problems, like the dawn, impatiently await them. Then the perpetual cycle begins again–days pass, months pass, or years pass, and the problems are never solved. Just as important as problem-solving is problem-finding, identifying problems in our creative lives that hold us back which we would be better off not hiding from, but finally confronting and solving.
Regretting and Worrying: Some people in the arts I’ve known seemed to dwell on every mistake they ever made. And some moan about what the future might hold. When you are mired in regret you lose energy and peace of mind lamenting and bemoaning what has already happened.
When you worry you lose energy and peace of mind anticipating what might happen in the future. Either way you’re robbing yourself of the energy and peace of mind you need to make the most of your talent. Better to direct your attention away from what has happened or what may happen and to what is happening right now on the computer screen or on the canvas before you. Whenever your attention strays to yesterday or tomorrow, nudge it back to what is happening at the present moment. When it strays again, nudge it back to what must be done during this single irreplaceable moment of time.
Self-pity and griping: Animals don’t whine about their situation, but many people do, and it keeps them from many successes in their art. Self-pity–a dark, destructive mood that cloaks a creative person in gloominess—is an insidious inner obstacle that I wrote about in Fighting to Win. People who pity themselves believe that life has singled them out to be especially brutal to. They are enthralled with the negative. One self-pitying griper in a work team or at a party or in a room can depress the mood of the entire group. More than one relationship has ended because one partner was weary of the other person’s griping.
When you pity yourself you’re saying that obstacles have the better of you, your prospects are exhausted, and that you have no defenses left. The griper begins by griping about the little things and then graduates and gripes about almost everything–“This is all wrong, and that’s all wrong, and everything is all wrong.” Always griping they live a miserable, uncreative life.
Avoidance: Avoidance is giving in to that momentary resistance to doing what you know you should do. You know you should call him now, or go to see her, but when the time comes you don’t feel like it, so you don’t call and you don’t go to see her. You’re supposed to get up at 5:00 A.M. today and get a jump on your project, but that’s so inhumanly early and it’s still dark outside. So when the shrill alarm sounds you smack the snooze button. All of our lives boil down to momentary choices. Always rely on your best judgment in the moment. Your best judgment guides you to the best choices: trust it.
Every flaw is correctible. Once we are aware that flaws in ourselves that could sabotage our creativity do exist, we can set out to rid ourselves of them, beginning with taking action–doing something productive before another moment passes, not griping, not pitying yourself, not worrying, and not putting off. Then we will feel a burst of wellness in our minds and spirits.
© 2026 David J. Rogers
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