I will get self-destructive and drink, drug, or sex
myself to death.
I will get cancer, AIDS—or a heart attack or the
plague.
My lover will leave me.
I will die.
I will feel bad because I don’t deserve to be
successful.
I will have only one good piece of work in me.
It’s too late. If I haven’t become a fully functioning
artist yet, I never will.
None of these core negatives need be true. They come to us
from our parents, our religion, our culture, and our fearful
friends. Each one of these beliefs reflects notions we have
about what it means to be an artist.
Once we have cleared away the most sweeping cultural
negatives, we may find we are still stubbornly left with core
negatives we have acquired from our families, teachers, and
friends. These are often more subtle—but equally
undermining if not confronted. Our business here is
confronting them.
Negative beliefs are exactly that: beliefs, not facts. The
world was never flat, although everyone believed it was.
You are not dumb, crazy, egomaniacal, grandiose, or silly
just because you falsely believe yourself to be.
