Today’s Lesson is from guest contributor Clara Leiu’s new book, Learn, Create, and Teach — A Guide to Building a Creative Life and is printed with permission. The book was written for the artist community, but the lessons are universal truths that can help most people.

I can do anything if I break out of my fear.

Fear is paralyzing and is frequently the main obstacle preventing artists from taking the risks necessary for progress. If I could be a student again, I would have been less afraid and taken more risks. Petrified of failure, I kept telling myself that as long as my work was technically well rendered, it would be inherently successful, so that’s what I did.

During my junior year of art school, I studied abroad in Rome. I spent the entire year making beautifully rendered, accurate drawings of everything I saw. I was completely enamored with and blinded by my technical skills and refused to make anything remotely conceptual. Later, when I realized the vacuousness of all my work, the sense of regret was palpable for many years. There is nothing worse than feeling like you’ll never know because you never tried.

In 2010, I started working on a new project, “Falling,” based on my personal experience with mental illness. Up until then, I had always kept an emotional distance from my work. Gestures in anonymous human figures that communicated themes of social isolation dominated my personal projects. After being diagnosed and treated for depression and anxiety, I realized that I had this incredible subject to explore. The problem was my deep worry about revealing illness, which even in today’s world carries a heavy stigma. I went ahead and did it anyway. Many people have told me that “Falling” is my best work to date.

The next time you find yourself afraid to do something, ask: What are the actual consequences if things don’t end up well? What’s the most awful thing that someone could possibly say? Answer these questions and you’ll find that the worst situation is really not so frightening after all. The anticipation is frequently more painful than the actual event.

Don’t let fear rob you of success in your life. Have no fear.

Fear is sharp-sighted, and can see things underground and much more in the skies.
Miguel de Cervantes
1547 – 1616

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clara Lieu is a visual artist and an adjunct professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. She has taught as Wellesley College, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.