Trusting Your Creative Instincts: Breaking Free from the Need for Approval

In a field where visibility and feedback are often part of the job, it’s easy to become reliant on external validation.

Whether you’re a freelancer, graphic designer, or creative professional, the pull to seek approval can feel relentless—waiting for client feedback, tracking engagement on social media, or anticipating a colleague’s thoughts on your latest project.

While it may feel daunting, learning to trust your creative instincts is a crucial part of developing your unique voice.

While feedback plays a crucial role in refining our work, constantly chasing validation can dampen creativity, feed into self-doubt, and prevent us from fully embracing our own vision.

In this post, we’ll dive into the downsides of chasing validation and share strategies to help you cultivate the confidence to trust your instincts and create work that truly reflects your voice.

The Allure of External Validation

Before we dive into the drawbacks, let's acknowledge why external validation is so tempting:

1. Immediate gratification: A client's praise or a flood of likes provides a quick dopamine hit.
2. Perceived safety: Following trends or adhering to client preferences feels like a "safe" choice.
3. Sense of belonging: Approval from peers can make us feel part of a community.
4. Measure of success: In a field where success can be subjective, external validation offers a tangible metric.

These reasons make external validation feel not just desirable but necessary. However, when it becomes our primary driving force, it can lead to a host of problems. Over time, relying too heavily on this kind of approval limits your creative potential, keeping you locked in a cycle of short-term satisfaction instead of long-term fulfilment.

The Pitfalls of Constant External Validation

Creative Stagnation

When we're always looking outward for approval, we tend to play it safe. We stick to what's worked before or what's currently trending, rather than pushing boundaries or exploring new territory. This can lead to a homogenisation of our work and a stagnation of our creative growth.

“True creativity flourishes when risks are taken, but seeking external approval can make risk feel too daunting.”

Erosion of Artistic Identity

Constantly moulding our work to please others can cause us to lose touch with our unique artistic voice. Our work becomes a reflection of others' expectations rather than an authentic expression of our creativity. Over time, this can erode the very spark that drew you into the creative field in the first place.

Emotional Rollercoaster

Relying on external validation puts our emotional well-being at the mercy of others’ opinions.”

A negative comment or a project that doesn't perform well on social media can send us into a spiral of self-doubt, while positive feedback can create unsustainable highs. This emotional rollercoaster can make it difficult to develop a stable, healthy relationship with our own creative process.

Missed Opportunities for Innovation

Some of the most groundbreaking work in creative fields came from individuals who dared to trust their vision, even when it went against popular opinion. By always seeking external approval, we might miss opportunities to create truly innovative work. Innovation often requires us to step into the unknown, something that’s impossible to achieve if we are forever tethered to public opinion.

Imposter Syndrome Intensification

Paradoxically, constantly seeking external validation can intensify feelings of imposter syndrome. The more we rely on others to affirm our worth, the less we believe in our own abilities and judgement. It becomes a cycle where no amount of external praise feels like enough because, deep down, we’ve lost trust in ourselves.

Building the Courage to Trust Yourself

Recognising the pitfalls of constant external validation is the first step. The next, more challenging step is building the courage to trust yourself and your creative instincts. Here are strategies to help you on this journey:

Reconnect with Your "Why"

Take time to reflect on why you chose your creative path in the first place. What drives you? What excites you about your work beyond the approval of others? Reconnecting with your intrinsic motivation can help anchor you when external validation is lacking.

Embrace the Learning Process

Shift your focus from seeking approval to seeking growth. View each project as an opportunity to learn and improve, regardless of how it's received externally. When you see yourself as an evolving creative, mistakes or setbacks are simply steps toward refinement.

Cultivate Internal Validation Rituals

Develop practices that help you acknowledge and celebrate your own efforts and achievements, independent of external feedback. This could be as simple as journaling about a project’s process or creating a "wins" board where you recognise moments of personal growth. These small acts of self-affirmation are crucial for building long-term confidence in your abilities.

Set Boundaries with Feedback

While feedback is valuable, it's important to set boundaries to prevent it from overwhelming your own creative voice. Decide when and from whom to seek input, ensuring that it complements rather than overrides your instincts. Use feedback as a tool for refinement, not as a determinant of your worth.

Embrace Imperfection and Experimentation

Give yourself permission to create "bad" work. Not everything needs to be portfolio-worthy or client-ready. The freedom to experiment and potentially fail is crucial for creative growth and building self-trust. Often, your most innovative ideas emerge when you stop striving for perfection.

Develop a Strong Inner Critic (and Learn When to Ignore It)

Work on developing your own ability to critically assess your work. This inner critic should be balanced—neither overly harsh nor too lenient. At the same time, learn when to tell your inner critic to take a back seat, especially during the initial creative phases.

Connect with Your Unique Value Proposition

Remind yourself of the unique perspective and skills you bring to your work. What makes your approach different? How do your background and experience inform your creativity? Lean into your strengths to reinforce trust in your vision. The more you align with your authentic voice, the more confident you'll become in charting your own course.

The Journey to Self-Trust

Building the courage to trust yourself is not a destination but a journey. There will be times when self-doubt creeps in or when the temptation to seek constant validation returns. That's okay.

The goal is not to eliminate external feedback entirely—it does have its place—but to build a strong foundation of self-trust that can weather the ups and downs of creative work.

Remember, individuals who had the courage to trust their unique vision, even when others didn't immediately understand or appreciate it, produced some of the most impactful creative work throughout history.

“Your distinct perspective is your greatest asset as a creative professional.”

Learning to trust yourself opens up possibilities for creating truly authentic, innovative work that not only satisfies clients and peers but also fulfils you as a creative individual.

As you embark on this journey of building self-trust, be patient with yourself. Celebrate the small victories—the times you stuck to your creative guns, the projects where you pushed your boundaries, the moments you chose self-trust over external validation.

Over time, you'll find that the courage to trust yourself becomes not just a professional asset but a profound source of personal fulfilment in your creative journey.