how to kill the ego /ic/ ?
i think ego is a major, major issue with artists. at least i know that for me it is. it has always held me back, and is still, as i make tremendous effort to subdue it, holding me back massively.
here's some of the effects ego has on your art and life:
> intimidated by other guys around your skill level
> too proud or embarassed to self promote
> too proud or embarassed to pursue clients and work on acquiring clients with the necessary drive
> 'fuck it, industry is trash anyway' attitude
> bitterness upon seeing commercially appealing but lower skilled artists succeed
> 'everyone else only made it bc they knew somebody' attitude
> if my ex googles my name and sees how much i shill my stuff they'll think i'm an embarassing failure
> initially amicable relationships with fellow artists turn sour and competitive out of insecurity and rivalry develops
> pathological fear of looking up the names of artists you once considered to be around your skill level, to avoid the potential hurt of seeing them have developed past your current skill
> or worse, to see them be financially successful despite you having developed way past their skill, but not marketed yourself properly
list goes on and one. ego is death, ego is pain.
how to kill ego
>>2448748
>mfw I was happy to share my work but /ic/ ironically helped give me a huge ego and now I won't even post on DA anymore.
Feels good.
>>2448748
Acid or 20 years of dedicated meditation 8 hours a day.
I'd rather spend that time drawing.
>>2448748
/ic/ really fucks with my confidence, I added 3 of you fucks on snapchat a few months back and I found my progress pic in a cringe thread a few weeks after.
Ever since then I just study and don't post my art anywhere.
/ic/ seems to think that when an individual posts work online that the artist believe it is amazing and that the artist must think it is perfect.
/ic/ believes people should not be allowed to post their work until it is to their standards.
It's the problem with having so many people posting anonymously but if you want to talk about /ic/ as a group they believe anyone posting anything online has stopped doing actual study and is just churning out shit art because they think its great.
when in reality the majority of people creating artwork and posting it online are studying and learning constantly.
>>2448771
>when in reality the majority of people creating artwork and posting it online are studying and learning constantly.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
>>2448771
>/ic/ really fucks with my confidence, I added 3 of you fucks on snapchat a few months back and I found my progress pic in a cringe thread a few weeks after.
>Ever since then I just study and don't post my art anywhere.
LMAO which one of you savage fucks did that
>>2448748
Most of these don't even have anything to do with ego
Person who meditates every day here, ego is the worst, the only way to get good is to be extremely focused on what you're doing and not caring about anything else, the moment ego gets in the way (the facebook likes, comparing yourself to other artists, etc.) you're fucked.
>>2448748
Only pretentious teenagers think you need to punch your ego into the dirt to become a better artist. All ego death is going to do is make you lose any motivation to draw because anything you make is going to automatically be shit in your eyes.
Like most things in life, you have to keep both self-confidence and self-awareness in a state of balance. That way you can have faith in what you create but not be so absorbed that you overestimate your capacity as an artist.
>>2449008
>All ego death is going to do is make you lose any motivation to draw because anything you make is going to automatically be shit in your eyes.
It appears you misundersand what OP refers to when he says "ego". Conventionally, people tend to use the word to describe an inflated sense of self-worth. However, the dictionary definition of the word is closer to the way we perceive ourselves, and how others perceive us -- our "identity". It is inherently false on some level, and there are a lot of negative aspects to it, because you are invested in how others perceive you.
To kill your ego in this case would be to no longer be invested in how you or your work is perceived by others, which can be viewed as a very worthwhile and liberating thing.
Hi OP. I killed my ego and now I'm going to tell you why it's a bad idea and why you shouldn't do it.
-Your memory, short, long and working, is tied up in your ego
-Your confidence is tied up in your ego
-Your self-control is tied up in your ego
-Your reflexes and motivation is tied up in your ego
-Your decision making is tied up in your ego
-Your personality is tied up in your ego
After I "killed my ego", I suffered serious memory loss, both long and short term. I literally forgot who I was, my name, what I was doing, etc- everything you can think of that defines a person- I had forgotten it- total amnesia. My reflexes slowed down by about 200ms, which is significant and it was constant, and had a catastrophic effect on my life. I couldn't respond to people fast enough anymore, it felt like my IQ had dropped 15 points, and when I got it tested, it actually had dropped by roughly about that amount. I have to plan what I'm going to say to people before I speak now, because I'm not fast enough to think on my feet and improvise- something I prided myself in being able to do before.
In general I became a shallower, dumber version of my previous self. Learning new things became more difficult, because I couldn't remember past experiences to deduce new ones from. Predicting the future became more difficult, planning became more difficult. My mind is blank unless I overwhelm it, which requires me to obsessively think about thinking- remembering to remember. In general, life became more difficult, every single second of the day. There weren't moment where I felt "like my old self again"- I am permanently changed. There is no going back.
I admit I have been made a much more humble person, more self aware, but I would not ever recommend it to anyone. It is a permanent handicap. You can't undo it once it's been done.
