STOP Putting Off Your Artistic Dreams With Casey Wakefield

STOP Putting Off Your Dreams with Casey Wakefield

Have you ever found yourself putting off something you deeply desire but that feels too scary, too overwhelming, or maybe too outside your comfort zone?

I know I have, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve likely experienced that inner voice of self-doubt. It’s easy to discount our desires and stop ourselves from reaching our goals, but I’ve learned to use regret as a powerful motivator.

When I first heard about the Mastery Program, I was in a beginner oil painting class, sitting in the back, overhearing Elli talk about sign-ups for the one-year program starting soon. It wasn’t anything anyone said that convinced me; it was the fear of regret. I realized I would regret it if I didn’t seize this opportunity. So I made the decision to go all in—not with the expectation of selling my work, but with the simple desire to learn and grow.

Over the course of the year, something profound happened. I began to understand how my creative process was intricately tied to how I experience and understand the world. It was like everything clicked into place.

But then, just before finishing the program, I was faced with a huge fear: the fear of being misunderstood. Sharing my art with the world was now a necessity, but I was terrified. The more Elli encouraged us to share on social media, the more anxiety I felt. I didn’t share much on social media at the time, and suddenly being asked to post my art felt overwhelming.

But regret pushed me to take action. I couldn’t let the fear of what others might think stop me from doing what I truly wanted to do. So I posted. And to my surprise, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Friends and family encouraged me, and I began receiving opportunities I hadn’t even imagined.

Recently, I’ve been reading Mel Robbins’ book Let Them, and it resonated with me in a way I wasn’t expecting. In it, Mel talks about the importance of not worrying about what others think, and instead focusing on our own goals and authenticity. It’s simple but incredibly powerful: when people have opinions or judgments about you, you just say, “Let Them.” Let them feel what they want. Let them think what they want. Let them engage or not.

This philosophy has freed me to stop overthinking the reactions of others. For a while, I had fallen into a perfectionistic trap of worrying about how my work would be received. But now, I’m reminding myself that I can’t control what others think, so why waste time worrying about it?

As Mel Robbins says, “Your time is way more valuable than that because you’ve got important things to do with this one wild and precious life.”

I know this isn’t just something I struggle with. I see many Mastery Program students wrestling with the same fear of being judged or misunderstood and worrying about what others expect them to create, and maybe you do too. But your voice is unique. Don’t let the fear of others’ opinions stop you from fully embracing who you are and what you want to create.

If fear or self-doubt is holding you back, remember to Let Them. Let the world feel, think, or react however they want, and let yourself live your life in a way that makes you proud. Because, at the end of the day, the opinion that matters the most is your own.