This article is brought to you as part of the ASCAP Wellness Program.

 

While creativity is obviously a prerequisite for any professional music creator, execution and consistency are critical. Cultivating mental and emotional strength can help creators bring their visions to life and produce with greater ease.

 

Mental strength can help creators to stay on track through extended project timelines and remain focused, while emotional strength is crucial to being able to take criticism in stride and bounce back from setbacks.

 

Here, experts share six tips and exercises to help creators hone their mental and emotional strength.

 

 

Invest in personal relationships

 

It can be all too easy for independent music creators to unintentionally go days without social activity. (And no, social media doesn’t count!). But investing time in authentic personal relationships that encourage openness and vulnerability can pay back priceless returns for creators, says Daniel Boscaljon, Ph.D., co-founder of the Institute for Trauma-Informed Relationships and the Healthy Relationship Academy.

 

“Creators can gain deep insight into their feelings and emotions as a result of their openness with others, and the resilience involved with processing difficulties from emotional interactions with loved ones can provide creators with valuable tools of emotional intelligence, cognitive agility and emotional regulation,” he says.

 

Not only can spending time with close friends and loved ones be enjoyable and fulfilling overall, but these interactions can also help creators arm themselves with the skills to deal with challenges in their careers. “This kind of internal strength, resilience and fortitude is ultimately incredibly helpful for creators,” Boscaljon says.

 

 

Practice gratitude

 

Cultivating mental and emotional strength starts with taking control of our thoughts, which are upstream from our emotions and ultimately influence our behavior, says Amy Morin, L.C.S.W., author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do and host of the Mentally Stronger podcast.

 

One helpful and straightforward exercise that Morin recommends as a reliable way to guide our thoughts in a positive direction is to write three things in a gratitude journal every day.

 

“Studies show gratitude boosts our psychological well-being, strengthens our relationships, improves our quality of sleep and can even help us live longer,” she says. “Writing three things in a gratitude journal every day is a quick and simple way to build mental strength.”

 

 

Remind yourself of your “why”

 

 

Purpose is an incredibly powerful resource for boosting mental strength and endurance. While motivation can be fleeting – here one day, gone the next – a sense of purpose can fuel a creator’s will to work harder and longer at their craft.

 

According to licensed psychologist Chu Hui Cha, Ph.D., figuring out your purpose is a key strategy for creators to remind themselves why they’re pursuing a particular craft or passion, and to ensure that it ultimately is for their personal fulfillment versus anyone else’s.

 

“Once you’ve identified your ‘why,’ routinely ask yourself why you're doing this work, what your purpose is and what your values are,” she says. “Making these concrete by writing them down, making a list, or journaling about it on a regular basis can be a helpful practice to stay grounded and focused on the reason for your work.’

 

 

Name your feelings

 

Working in a creative field, things don’t always go as planned and external factors can knock you off your game, leaving you feeling frazzled. In these moments, make it a priority to take a beat and identify the emotions you’re feeling.

 

“Naming your feelings is an important step towards building mental strength,” Morin says. “Don’t avoid reconciling your feelings, even if it’s not how you expected to react.”

 

“Research shows that just putting a label on an emotion takes a lot of the sting out of it,” she says. “Labeling a feeling helps your brain and your body make sense of what is happening, and then gives you the ability to make better decisions.”

 

 

 

Talk to yourself as you would to a friend

 

 

Think about how you talk to trusted friends when playing the role of listening ear and confidant. You’re probably more compassionate towards them than you are to yourself.

 

While being self-critical can serve a constructive purpose – like pushing yourself to meet a deadline or iterate on a project – being intentional with how you treat yourself is crucial for your emotional balance and, ultimately, your long-term performance, says Morin.

 

“Self-compassion helps us rebound from mistakes more quickly, and it helps us perform better in the future, too,” she says.

 

 

Recharge your batteries

 

We all need to reset between challenging projects, days and interactions. Routinely taking time for yourself is what will allow you to come back refreshed and ready to produce at your highest level.

 

“A lot of my clients are high achievers in their fields, and what I've found is that every successful person needs a system of practices and rituals to maintain their mental fortitude,” says Cha.

 

Exercise, breathwork, relaxation, getting good sleep and reducing screen time are a few of the activities that Cha recommends, but ultimately it’s up to you to identify the things that leave you feeling fulfilled and energized.