I recently read a review of a group exhibition, and the critic mentioned that in the time since making the work included in the show, some of the artists had “failed.”
I had ideas about what the critic meant by that statement, but then I wondered what it meant to me. How does an artist fail? The main thing I could come up with was that to have failed, they would have given up on making work.*
Around the same time I was also thinking about how we (artists) define success for ourselves.
We know what success looks like for everyone else, but the most important thing we can do for ourselves is determining what success looks like for us. And we need to practice feeling successful in the present moment.
*This is not the same as taking a break from making work. Taking a break is not failure. But does the decision to give up discount all of the work an artist made prior to that decision? That doesn’t seem right.
A personal definition of success: considerations and goals
Possible considerations for defining what success looks like for us:
*Our work- does it excite us, does it challenge us, are we working to improve it, does it express our values?
*Our community- how are we showing up for others and providing opportunities or resources? Do we give more than we take?
*Our resources- what do we have space, finances, and mental/physical/emotional energy to realistically accomplish at this time?
When we consider these career components (or others), do we give ourselves related goals based on things we can control? If not, our goals for achieving success are based on external sources of validation (like shows, prizes, or anything where we have to be ‘picked’ by someone else), not solely on the work we are putting in.
As an example, a few years ago, I started the new year with several career goals. One was to apply for 3 opportunities per month. Another was to add 3 group shows to my CV for the year. The first of these goals I had infinitely more control over than the second, because having work included in shows relies on others’ curatorial decisions, but my submitting applications was a goal based on my own efforts. Some goals for achieving success are more valuable, because they acknowledge the amount of work we have done, not the way external sources perceive that work.
When we recognize our own success based on the work we have put in, we are also practicing our ability to feel successful in the present moment.
Success in the present moment
If we want to pursue our career by seeking out external validation, we can absolutely do that. But what if the work we care most about making is never “in” during our lifetime? Or what if we never make the right connections to show in the right spaces? Do we choose to see ourselves as failures because external factors don’t work out in our favor?
During the last few years, growing awareness of ‘hustle culture’ has helped many of us consider how we treat ourselves around our perceived success (or lack thereof). We still have a long way to go.
One of the greatest successes we can have is an attitude of kindness towards ourselves. We can care about our goals and work at our highest level, while realizing that many things are out of our control. We can celebrate ourselves when we win and alternately, we can be satisfied in knowing that we did our best and will try again when our work is not chosen. We can choose our own version of success instead of waiting for The Art World to anoint us.
My ideas about success have changed a lot over the last few years. When I think about something I want to achieve, I consider whether it really matters to me (and why), or whether it’s something I feel like I should do (in the best of scenarios, these overlap). For me, right now, success means I am treating myself with compassion and I am making work that I feel excited about.
It’s been said that the only person we need to impress is ourselves at 17 and ourselves at 70. I agree with this, partly. Instead, I’d say that the only person I need to impress is me, right now. 17-year-old me had no idea what today-me would be dealing with, and I believe that 70-year-old me will feel proud knowing that today-me did the best that I could, even if I don’t achieve things the rest of the world considers big or important.
Regardless, I, right now, am the only version of me that will ever exist, and in order for 70-year- old me to feel a sense of pride and achievement, I need to start practicing that for myself now.
Success, or feeling successful, is a practice, but not in the way we think. It is a feeling we must cultivate in the present moment, not one we should strive to have in the future.
Related quotes:
“You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working.
… Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. .... They who work selfishly for results are miserable.”
“Success is not a goal, it’s a byproduct.”
-Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant- there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing- and keeping the unknown always beyond you…”
Nikki, this is so brilliant!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lauren! 💗
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