The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: What Nobody tells You About Starting Something New

What are you starting? Is it a script? Is it your own publishing company? Have you handed over whatever you’ve been working on for someone else’s eyes? Were you hopeful… or were you neutral?

All of this to say, whatever you spent years pouring your heart into, no one prepares you for what comes next.

You might get a no. You might get a yes. You might get a no… with a maybe later. Whatever answer you get, it doesn’t come with a manual for the emotional rollercoaster that follows.

YOU HAVE TO HEAL TO FEEL

Feelings can get complicated. You can feel happy and sad at the same time. You can feel frustration and love in the same breath. And it takes only a second. Just a second—for your perception to shift. For your mindset to change.

And when that happens, it can feel… confusing. Overwhelming. Even lonely.

We’ve all seen it—the emotions some of our well-known creators go through. It’s not pretty…I can tell you that much. But I can also tell you it doesn’t feel nice. If you’ve read my blog post: From Burnout to Breakthrough: How to Protect Your Creative Spark, you would know that I’ve had my fair share of burnouts, and this is only the beginning.

To catch you up, I told you why I burned out, and the reason I burned out. It’s the same reason many do. In that same blog, I tell you how important it is as a creative to get mental health checks.

DON’T LET THE GHOST HAUNT YOU

There’s a pattern: a creative in the spotlight has a mental breakdown. The public either cares or they don’t.

It’s a toxic cycle.

And believe it or not, it affects authors too. We might not always be front and center, but we’re still in the spotlight. As long as book tours still exist, as long as we’re marketing our book, we feel all the pressure.

There’s promoting your books, doing interviews, and pitching them over and over again. Just to sell your artwork. It’s exhausting.

For musicians and models, it can be even harder. You’re not just promoting your art. You’re promoting yourself. And it can make you feel like an object. Most creatives don’t say anything because they don’t want to seem ungrateful.

Here’s the truth: we’re immensely grateful for the platform you’ve given us, but showing up constantly? That can be draining.

A FISH OUT OF THE WATER

Yes, I’m aware of what I said in my blog post: The Power Of Showing Up: Why Consistency beats Perfection. Quality and consistency matter—definitely. But that doesn’t mean your mental state should suffer in the process.

Quality and consistency go hand in hand in a successful creative career. But if you want longevity for your creations and yourself as the creator; you then have to look inward.

Ask yourself this: Am I enjoying the process of being a creator?

If the answer is yes, then I’d guess you either talked to someone or, at the very least, journaled your frustrations.

But if your answer was no, you need to take action as soon as you can.

The sooner you seek support, the sooner creating stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like an outlet again.

Let me make it clear: there will be hard days. Days when you’ve done everything—you’ve journaled, talked it out, meditated, walked it off, and you still feel like being an entertainer just sits like a weight on your chest.

Don’t fret, okay, that’s normal.

But feeling that way every single day isn’t.

MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN

I hope you learned something valuable from this. Taking care of yourself as a creative is the most crucial part of being a creative. No one fills up your cup when you’re in this position. So I’m teaching you to do it yourself.

If you did learn something today, I’m all ears. As your big sister, it’s my duty to guide you and make sure you have no scraps from falling down.

Because learning this is like learning to ride a bike with no training wheels.