Mindfulness is practiced by many people in many ways, to elevate themselves, for self-improvement, etc, it is used even in sports practice to be better at their chosen sport.

Being mindful can also help artists to center themselves and improve themselves in their own chosen craft.

You don’t want to be literally slapping yourself in the face in the mirror whenever you make a mistake in your art. (I knew someone who did that regarding his own start-up business, he told me he would hit himself for being “stupid” about bad decisions, its bad, self deprecating toolish behaviour, its not good for you as a person.)

So, here is how as a artist you can practice mindfulness while practicing your art while exercising self-improvement and care.

#1: Be Present And Non-Judgemental In The Now Of What You Are Doing

Being present and non-judgemental in the now of what you are doing. What does that mean?

Let’s say you are drawing something, make sure you are in the moment and present for it, enjoy the moment and get into the groove.

Being non-judgemental doesn’t mean not acknowledging your mistakes. Acknowledge them, take note of them, correct them and remember about them but never ever judge yourself harshly about it.

Don’t beat yourself up and judge yourself for the mistakes you make along the way.

That’s practicing mindfulness as you draw.

#2: When #1 Fails, Bring Yourself Back Kindly To Your Work

Let’s say you can’t find yourself getting into the groove, you feel off, you are not in the present, you feel yourself drifting and not in a good zen way as you are drawing. You are losing attention.

Bring yourself back to the present and regain attention in a kind manner. Do not beat yourself up over the fact that you are losing focus, that you are not in the present. Being non-judgemental comes back into play here.

Don’t say things to yourself like “How can I not be paying attention, I am a bad artist.” “Why am I drifting off and unable to focus, I am a bad person.” etc.

Self-put downs and self-deprecating statements although they can be good for one or two jokes, if repeated too many times and over a long period of time, they will start to have an effect on your self-esteem, start to ring true for you in your head for real and affect your self-esteem, performance and mood moving forward in your art journey.

#3: Practice Mindfulness Outside of Art

Practicing mindfulness outside of your art is a good way to make it easy to practice it when you are doing your craft as well.

Mindfulness is being present, in the moment, paying attention, being non-judgemental, gently gliding yourself back to being present without being judgemental about your lapse, acknowledge it happened and let it pass by.

Try some mindfulness meditation where you focus on the present, your senses, your feelings, your body, etc. and when you start focusing on something else bring yourself back to focusing on the present again without judgement, try this for 5-10 minutes and remember that feeling.

See if you can bring that feeling to your work process and see if it helps you practice.

Conclusion

These are 3 ways to practice mindfulness, if you are interested in the topic and find that it helps you, make sure to research more on what mindfulness is. mindfulness meditation and see how you can apply it to your art process in your own way.

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Keep Creating~!
JR