We all have thought patterns we fall into from time to time. Things like self-doubt, procrastination, perfection are all classics for many creatives. One might say we even indulge–or over-indulge–in some of these emotions to our own detriment.

Because while we can’t prevent ourselves from feeling the whispers of these emotions, letting them linger too long ultimately hurts our energy and creativity.

So in this episode, Lisa is sharing how she’s learned to break free from indulging in negative emotions and the positive impact it’s had in her life and career.

 Let’s dive in!

What’s in this episode:

• [00:24] The different emotions we might be indulging in
• [02:36] Why we indulge in these sometimes unhelpful emotions
• [03:40] How to break the loop of overthinking
• [05:43] Why we get stuck indulging in self-doubt and what positive self-talk can do for us
• [07:12] How to start finding joy and excitement in creativity again

Tune in to this episode for a little pep talk on the emotions we should and shouldn’t be indulging in!

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Resources Mentioned

Brooke Castillo at The Life Coach School

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Did this episode help you rethink what emotions you’re indulging in? Check out this episode The Art of Connection: Infusing Emotion and Body Language in Photography with Denise Birdsong that shares how another photographer started their career!

Transcript

Ep 228 Solo_FINAL

[00:00:00] Speaker: Hey friend, welcome to the Art and Soul Show. I’m your host Lisa DiGeso, a mom, a photographer, and entrepreneur. Tune in here for pep talks, conversations, and advice on photography, creativity, mindset, business, life, and that messy in between. This is the place where you can go when you need a boost of encouragement, a kick in the pants, and inspiration to pick up your camera.

[00:00:24] This is the Art and Soul Show. Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Art and Soul Show. I’m Lisa, and today we’re diving into a topic that really hits home for me, and probably for you too. We’re talking about emotional indulgence. Now, whether it’s self doubt, procrastination, Perfectionism or good old overthinking, we all indulge in emotions and habits that often will keep us stuck.

[00:00:50] And sometimes we don’t even realize that we’re doing it. And full transparency, my friend, this is something I repeatedly find myself doing. It could be [00:01:00] spotlight syndrome, um, And really just taking myself way too seriously, taking my work too seriously. I find I really indulge in perfectionism and I find it really stops me from being the creator that I want to be And really how I show up in my life.

[00:01:14] So today I want to give a little nod to Brooke Castillo here She’s an incredible life coach who Talks about how we choose certain emotions or patterns like procrastination, because in the moment it can feel better than actually doing that hard thing. And when I first heard that it hit me like a tongue of bricks.

[00:01:31] So what if the reason I was stuck was not because I was lacking that motivation is because I’m indulging in things like. Fear and doubt instead. And that’s the key word indulging. So today I really want to unpack emotional indulgence and what it looks like and how it can sneak into our lives and our businesses and more importantly how we can actually stop that cycle because that’s something that I’m repeatedly bumping up against too.

[00:01:57] So let’s start with what does it even mean to [00:02:00] indulge in emotions? So when we think of indulgence, we kind of think about like eating chocolate or binge watching Netflix, but emotional indulgence really is just when we sit with an emotion, like Self doubt or overwhelm or procrastination. And we keep coming back to it, looping on it, even though it’s really not helping us.

[00:02:20] It’s kind of like sitting in a rocking chair, you’re moving, but you’re just not getting anywhere. And you tell yourself, okay, I’ll start working on this once I feel confident or I’ll start tomorrow, or I’ll just scroll on Tik TOK because that makes me feel like I’m doing something, but. In all truth, it’s not.

[00:02:36] The truth is indulging in these emotions becomes comfortable because they are familiar. They give us that excuse not to do that hard, uncomfortable work. The thing is, though, feelings like self joke and worry and perfectionism, they really aren’t that bad. They are just our human emotions. But when we indulge in them, we kind of give them too much air time and we really lose sight of what we’re [00:03:00] actually capable of.

[00:03:01] We start doubting ourself. We start giving away our power to our emotions. So let’s talk about overthinking for a second, because man, this one is a sneaky one. Overthinking can feel like you’re doing something productive, and you tell yourself, I’m being thorough, or I just need to research this a little more, I need to explore every angle before I make a decision.

[00:03:22] But more often than not, overthinking is just a fancy form of procrastination. When we overthink, it sort of gives you the illusion of control. Like if you think about the problem long enough, the perfect solution is going to appear. Truth of the matter is, my friend, it won’t. Overanalyzing really just keeps us spinning in place.

[00:03:40] It’s stuck in that loop of what ifs or maybes or laters. And it really just robs us of our productive time and our energy and our creativity. So the key here really is you’ve just got to let go of the need to know everything before you start. And as Brooke Castillo teaches, clarity really comes from the [00:04:00] doing.

[00:04:00] It’s not thinking, it’s not planning, it’s doing. You have to act before you feel ready and you need to trust that the path will reveal itself along the way. So maybe you’re like me and you’re a bit of an education junkie and you have been binge watching education and photography tutorials But you have yet to do a model call So while I agree that education is a hundred percent important the magic really happens in the doing for that learning You’re gonna have to get hands on to like figure out your camera to get hands on in Photoshop and and even how you work in director models So, procrastination can often feel like reproductive, but it isn’t.

[00:04:38] And let’s be honest, it is really the most seductive form of emotional indulgence. It tells you you’ll feel better if you just take a break, or you can start later. And listen, sometimes we do absolutely need rest. But procrastination really isn’t rest. It’s avoidance. So the tricky part is that procrastination can really feel like we’re actually doing something productive and we convince [00:05:00] ourselves that I’m not procrastinating.

[00:05:02] I’m researching. Now, this is one I’m super guilty of. I love to research. And, um, I will spend hours and hours and hours just researching, and the truth of the matter is sometimes I am researching, but sometimes I’m really procrastinating. So the perfect time to do something really never comes, and if we’re always waiting to feel like we feel like doing something, we’re probably not going to do it.

[00:05:23] So this is basically, we’re just letting go. Fear and doubt run the show and that doesn’t feel cool. It doesn’t feel like we’re in the driver’s seat. So instead of waiting for motivation to hit you, what if you just made a small move forward? Even if it’s completely messy, even if it’s super scary, taking action really is the only way to get out of procrastination.

[00:05:43] And the longer we indulge, the harder it becomes to start. Now self doubt is another one of those emotions that we love to indulge in because it feels so real. You think, I’m not good enough. Who am I to do this? And instead of actually challenging those thoughts, you sink into that warm familiar [00:06:00] blanket, albeit not very comfy one.

[00:06:01] It’s that scratchy, itchy wool one that we don’t like. But here is the thing, self doubt Doubt isn’t the truth. It’s just a thought, and the more we indulge it, we actually reinforce it, and that’s not what we want to do. We want to be telling ourselves how amazing we are, and we can do anything. Brooke Castile really talks about how our thoughts create our feelings, which drive our actions.

[00:06:20] So if your thoughts are stuck in self doubt, you’re going to feel unmotivated, and that’s going to stop you from taking action. It is completely just a vicious cycle. So the way out of this is challenging your thoughts, ask your thought, is this serving me? What’s a more empowering thought I can choose right now?

[00:06:37] And you don’t have to believe it a hundred percent. You just have to try it on and see what happens. Now, I was talking to a friend the other day, and a lot of the time, my self doubt comes in this little monster that I have named Carl. And Carl likes to tell me that is stupid, that idea is stupid, that’s stupid.

[00:06:53] And my friend truly challenged me on this. She said, what if, instead of saying that’s stupid, what if you just flipped it [00:07:00] and said that’s fun? How does that feel? And I had to say like, that felt way better because that’s stupid makes me feel like I’m stupid, makes me feel like my idea is stupid. And it’s not, it’s not.

[00:07:12] The ideas that we have are sometimes our genius, and we need to prove it. So if we’re telling ourselves our ideas are stupid, that doesn’t feel so good and we’re not going to create. But if we switch it and we lighten up a little bit and we take ourselves less seriously, we start saying, Hey, that’s fun.

[00:07:30] We might actually do it. Taking ourselves and our work way too seriously, it makes every decision feel monumental. Like it’s really life or death. My friend, creativity is not meant to be that heavy. It’s supposed to be playful and messy and imperfect. And when we indulge in overanalyzing every little thing, whether it’s a social media post, and I’m pointing my finger at me here too, or maybe a new project, we really drain the joy out of creating.

[00:07:56] Elizabeth Gilbert, who is one of my favourite authors, she wrote Big [00:08:00] Magic, Reminds us that creativity should be a partnership and not a burden. She says, perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat. So sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves just is to lighten up on ourselves.

[00:08:14] Allow yourself to make mistakes. Give yourself that permission to create just for the joy of it, not for the approval and not for the likes and not for that external validation. So my question for you, which Is what are you indulging in right now? Are you letting procrastination take the wheel? Are you stuck in self doubt or over analyzing every decision to death?

[00:08:38] Maybe it’s businesses decisions, maybe it’s life decisions, or maybe even creativity decisions. The first step to breaking that cycle really is that awareness because we can’t change what we don’t see. So get curious, my friend, notice where you’re feeling stuck and ask yourself. What am I getting from this?

[00:08:55] Because if you’re indulging in it, there’s a part of you that believes it’s serving you in [00:09:00] some way. And then once you know that you can actually choose differently. So breaking free from emotional indulgence really isn’t about willpower. It’s really about creating new habits. Start small. If you’re indulging in procrastination, maybe set a timer for 10 minutes and just start.

[00:09:18] If you’re stuck in overthinking, make a decision and then stick with it. The magic really happens when you act. And as Brooke Castillo says, the only thing standing between you and what you want are your thoughts. So shift your thoughts. Take action and trust that you’ll figure it out as you go. So, my friend, I have to ask you, what are you indulging in right now?

[00:09:40] Whatever it is, know that you’re not alone and you have the power to shift and get out of it. Get curious, get honest, and take that one small step forward. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today on the Art and Soul Show. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or maybe [00:10:00] leave a review.

[00:10:00] It really would mean the world to me. And remember my friend, you are capable of so much more than your fear and your doubt, more than they would ever have you believe. I am sending you so much of my light and my love today and every single day. We’ll see you next time!