Her mind? A swirling vortex of
“You’ll fail,”
“You’re not good enough,”
and the occasional “
What if I trip over my own feet and invent a new form of creative disaster?”
One fateful day, while mindlessly scrolling through social media (the experts' land of self-doubt ), Bhavani saw a post about a painting class. The artist in the picture seemed to be channelling the wisdom of the universe with every brushstroke. Bhavani thought,
“I can do that! How hard can it be? I’ll just show up, and maybe... paint the next Mona Lisa. No big thing.”
Fast forward to her first class, where Bhavani picked up a paintbrush and stared at the blank canvas like it was a staring contest into the Sky endlessly. Her mind instantly began to spiral, deeper and deeper:
“What if I paint something so bad, it opens a rift in this world?
What if the universe itself collapses because of my ‘Art’?”
But then, in a moment of great clarity (probably triggered by a life's crisis), she remembered something her friend once told her:
“Challenge your negative self-talk.” Bhavani thought,
“Okay, self. We can do this. Just one brushstroke at a time. Maybe even one that won’t summon a black hole.”
And so, she painted. The first stroke was shaky, but it was done. Then another, and another. The painting looked like a crime scene, but hey...it was progress. Bhavani took a deep breath, laughed nervously, and reminded herself,
“I can improve with practice. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will my art be... "
Weeks passed. Bhavani’s paintings didn’t get any less abstract, but she began to acknowledge her strengths, like her determination to show up every week, even if her art looked like it belonged in an alternate alien world. Each painting was a little better, or at least, less catastrophic. And for Bhavani, that was a win.
She stopped comparing herself to the Instagram influencers who painted sunsets so perfectly they made the sun feel shy. Bhavani decided to limit social media comparisons. If scrolling through perfect art made her feel like she was about to be swallowed by a black hole of self-doubt, she’d rather focus on things she enjoyed like painting, eating pizza, and avoiding the weight of the universe.
As her painting skills grew, so did her self-esteem. She set realistic goals, not to create the next Van Gogh, but to just finish a painting without creating world disasters. Each painting became a reminder that small wins were worth celebrating. One day, after completing a piece that resembled a cosmic nebula , she realised something profound:
“I’m not perfect, and that’s okay. I’m growing.”
Her growth mindset was as solid as gravity. Bhavani saw mistakes not as disasters but as opportunities to get better.
Her new mantra? “Even if my art causes a time loop or some big disaster, it’s still art.”
Through time, Bhavani began to recognise the role of past experiences. Her high school art teacher’s comments about her "painting skills of making dog & horse look same" haunted her less. She understood that her struggles shaped her, but didn’t define her. Instead, she embraced her imperfections, each one adding layers to her personal masterpiece.
And so, Bhavani continued. Each painting was a little less catastrophic, and each step was a little more, making her stronger. She laughed more, painted more, and let go of the need for perfection. She learned that self-compassion wasn’t just about forgiving herself for bad art, but for learning to embrace the messiness of life itself.
Moral of the story:
👉 Embrace your imperfections,
👉 challenge your negative self-talk, and learn to laugh at yourself.
Even if you think you’re creating a black hole of disaster, you’re still creating. So, pick up the brush, and remember ,it’s not the end of the universe if your art is a little... out there. Just enjoy the doing what you love 🌌
Nice story.
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