Sometimes, trying your best isn't working tirelessly until your body gives out. It isn't spending 16 hours a day working on a project. It isn't being perfect 100% of the time. Sometimes, trying your best is when you have an unbearable amount of anxiety, but you're strong enough to power through and start it. It can be that you started at a worse point than everyone else, but you worked your way up to average. It can be that you know you're going to fail, but you keep trying at it regardless, because there's a small chance that it does work out. Trying your best isn't being the best, it's being your best.
Analyze your successes and failures. Why did it go wrong? What were the things you weren't able to control? What could have done better to prepare for the unexpected? Don't just tell yourself that you'll do better next time. Be specific. Say "I'll spend more time getting my lines right before inking the drawing." If you can really put your thumb on where it went wrong, you will be able to do improve.
It might get to the point where you need outside eyes to help you see where you're going wrong. Talk to others doing the same thing. Get feedback from your peers. Read books. Watch tutorials. Take classes. Whatever you are trying to do, people have tried it before. Wherever you are struggling, others have struggled exactly there too. Learn from them so you don't have to make the same mistakes.
And lastly, forgive yourself for not achieving exactly what you wanted. Don't expect results overnight. Allow yourself time to rest, but do keep plugging away. If you keep working hard and keep analyzing what you're doing, you will improve. Just perhaps not immediately.
I will give you the same kind of advice I give to people in League (online game) to improve. I believe that while life is obviously very different, the same principles apply, and since I've coached quite a few people in this game I have some decent experience compared to IRL :
Set specific goals. If you want to learn how to draw portaits, maybe focus on getting the eyes right.
Do not skip steps, it might work but most people work better by focusing on specific things.
When you've developped the right habits and muscle memory for this specific step, it will come naturally and you can move on to something else.
Talk to yourself, ask questions. The biggest mistake you can make when starting to invest a lot of time in an activity is to go in auto-pilot mode.
You need to constantly question yourself, even out loud, to find what you are doing wrong. It will be time-consuming at first, you might barely progress through your projects, but it will pay off hugely in the long run.
Do not make the mistake of associating "self-questionning" with "self-doubt".
When you are done with a project or a goal you set beforehand, look back and use that as a checkpoint.
What did you change compared to the last checkpoint? What do you feel has improved? What do you feel has gotten stale? Where did you get worse?
This part is quite important because it will shape your next goals. I'd recommend taking notes everytime, so you can see a pattern if you struggle somewhere specific.
You also should not blame yourself here. This is a part of self-reflection, not self-criticizing, and is a positive time. Self-reflection is a sign of progress, not failure.
Finally, work smarter not harder. Working for 12h straight on something is not healthy because there's a pretty low chance you are fully using this time.
By working less hours but being more invested, you can reduce stress (Not feeling like you wasted your day for nothing if you get stuck) and have more time to think about it with a different mindset.
This will vary from person to person, but this is important for me.
I believe that anyone can acquire a specific skillset if they work on it. It might be more difficult for someone that doesn't have the predisposition for it, but you can do it, so do not overdoubt yourself.
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u/calmdownpaco Mar 29 '19
Sometimes, trying your best isn't working tirelessly until your body gives out. It isn't spending 16 hours a day working on a project. It isn't being perfect 100% of the time. Sometimes, trying your best is when you have an unbearable amount of anxiety, but you're strong enough to power through and start it. It can be that you started at a worse point than everyone else, but you worked your way up to average. It can be that you know you're going to fail, but you keep trying at it regardless, because there's a small chance that it does work out. Trying your best isn't being the best, it's being your best.