How to Embrace Both Resolve and Hesitation in Your Art Journey
In the world of art, the creative journey often feels like a dance between decisiveness and doubt. There are moments when you must move forward with clarity and purpose—resolved to bring your vision to life. But equally, there are times when hesitation offers the space to pause, reflect, and explore new possibilities. Embracing both resolve and hesitation is key to creating meaningful work. When you learn to navigate the tension between them, you can find balance, depth, and authenticity in your artistic practice. In this post, we’ll explore how both decisiveness and doubt shape your work and how you can harness them to create art that resonates deeply with both yourself and your audience.
When you are resolute in your artistic decisions, you build momentum. Resolve is about choosing a direction, committing to your vision, and moving forward without fear of failure. This clarity enables you to tackle challenges with confidence and gives you the power to complete projects, even when obstacles arise.
Hesitation is often misunderstood as procrastination or a lack of commitment. In reality, hesitation offers essential moments of reflection. It’s a time to pause and assess your work before making any major changes. When you hesitate, you give yourself the space to listen to your intuition, observe patterns, and even step back to see the larger picture. This pause can lead to breakthroughs that wouldn’t be possible in the rush of decision-making.
The beauty of creativity lies in the balance between resolve and hesitation. While resolve pushes you to take risks and explore new territories, hesitation helps you refine your ideas, keeping you from rushing into decisions that might not align with your vision. Both are necessary for an authentic and meaningful art practice.
Something to think about:
How do I balance the certainty of resolution with the uncertainty of hesitation in my artistic choices?
Inspirational quote for "Resolve and Hesitate”
Resolve: to settle on a plan of action, to hope for, aspire to, a goal or a dream, come to a decision, make arrangements or preparations for, to choose to do, make changes to improve.
Hesitate: to pause in indecision, be reluctant, interrupt an action, express regret, to have doubts or suspicions.
-Word Hippo
10 Tips for Embracing Resolve and Hesitation in Your Art Journey
Set Clear Intentions, But Stay Flexible: Begin your project with a clear idea of what you want to achieve (resolve), but allow space for adjustments as the work evolves. Let your hesitation guide you in refining and exploring new possibilities.
Use Hesitation as a Tool for Reflection: When you're unsure, take a step back. Use the time to reflect on what’s working and what isn’t. This pause can offer fresh perspectives and deepen the meaning of your work.
Commit to a Direction, Even if It Feels Risky: Make bold decisions and trust your instincts. Resolve to move forward with your chosen materials, colors, or compositions, even if you're unsure of the outcome. Progress often comes from taking risks.
Give Yourself Permission to Change Your Mind: Don’t be afraid to hesitate if you feel something isn’t right. It's okay to change your approach midway through a project. Hesitation doesn’t mean failure—it means giving yourself permission to course-correct.
Create in Phases: Set a clear goal for each phase of your artwork. In the first phase, resolve to experiment and make decisions. In the second phase, hesitate and evaluate your choices before moving on to further layers or revisions.
Practice Slow and Steady Action: Sometimes, hesitation comes from wanting perfection. Focus on taking small, decisive actions rather than rushing ahead. Slow and steady progress can help you make clearer choices and refine your work.
Allow Room for Intuition: While resolve is about structure and planning, hesitation lets your intuition guide you. When you're uncertain, listen to your gut feelings. Let your intuition help you decide whether to continue with a specific technique or explore something new.
Create a “Hesitation Journal”: Keep a journal to record moments of doubt. Write down what you're unsure about and why, then use these reflections as a guide to help resolve future decisions. This can help you see hesitation as part of your creative process.
Give Yourself Time to Rest: If you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed by hesitation, take a break. Sometimes, stepping away from a piece for a few hours or days can help you return with renewed resolve and a clearer sense of direction.
Balance Focused Work with Exploration: Commit to dedicated time for focused work (resolve), but also carve out space for playful exploration (hesitate). Allowing yourself to experiment without pressure can lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
