06/26/2026
We donāt have to stew in self-doubt. We deserve to have strong creative identities. We donāt have to fear being unqualified. Learning to love the mistakes you make is a form of freedom.
Researcher Jae Hwa LeeĀ investigated this idea in a 2020 study publishedĀ in āInnovations in Education and Teaching International,ā in which they sought to determine the factors that build creative confidence. Lee set up a program that brought together 764 first-year-in-college students (across 25 majors) who took a 16-week creativity course. Their main question: Can creative confidence be taught?
In a pre-survey, students selected from a list of challenges, both internal and external factors. The two highest internal factors: self-doubt and fear of being judged. The two highest external factors: not enough time and inadequate funding (money).
After the 16-week creativity courseāwhich included learning about creativity research and theory, hands-on creative exercises, a 30-day creative habit project, interviews with entrepreneurs, group discussions, and moreāthe studentsā creative confidence increased significantly. Self-doubt reduced.
But what about time and money, the highest external factors? In my experience and from learning from other artists, you donāt need a lot of either to build creative confidence. A 16-week course, which would be amazing to experience, might not be feasible for the general population.
I suffered from self-doubt and fear of being judged. I still deal with these two internal factors, but those voices are quieter. I can speak back to them, gently and firmly. I also felt like I couldnāt be fully creative without endless time or money. Itās just not true. Starting small is the key to sustainable creative confidence.
Here are some tools Iāve picked up and practiced on my own, as well as learned about from other artists, as I chugged my way through the light at the end of the creative confidence tunnel.
Read more at likereallycreative.com/researchlog
