Why giving up is not an option (part 1)

It all started last year when I was working on two pop-up books simultaneously, and I was feeling stressed. It just didn’t feel “right” anymore. My inner voice was getting louder, and I became increasingly frustrated.

Somehow, I began to experience a creative block. I wasn’t satisfied with anything I was drawing, and the joy I once felt had faded. At least I managed to keep drawing every day.

Earlier this year, I reached a low point when I received a cancellation for a book project I was supposed to be working on until summer. This led me to question my work, and the usual doubts crept in: Am I good enough? What am I doing here, and what direction should I take now? Should I give up everything? In the end, though, giving up was not an option.

This wasn’t the start to the new year that I had envisioned, but as it turned out, it might have been exactly what I needed.

I watched numerous videos and read articles about overcoming creative block, which prompted me to ask myself, "What did I truly want?" One thing became clear: I no longer wanted to create just picture books; I wanted to explore a variety of different endeavors again. A recurring theme in all the articles and videos was the importance of not giving up and consistently showing up for yourself. This became the mantra I repeated to myself over and over.

What happened next is still hard for me to articulate. It reminds me of the saying that when you're at your lowest point, the only direction left to go is up – something I have found to be true.

So, I've decided to shift my focus from simply drawing as much as I can to exploring other areas that I haven't had enough time for in the past few months or years. This includes personal branding and networking. With the rise of AI, I believe that building personal relationships is becoming more important than ever.

One of the simplest and most effective steps I took was creating to-do lists and checking off tasks as I completed them. For instance, I updated my profile on Pinterest and the Autillus website. It felt rewarding to focus on my own business, rather than just working on commissions nonstop.

I began to work on my personal branding, clarifying my goals and areas of interest so that I could identify my guiding star.

With the help and guidance of the brilliant book Die gute Mappe, I wrote everything down and subconsciously carried the questions with me until, one day, it was like I was stepping into a new chapter of my creative journey.

In the second part of this post, I will share what I have learned and what has helped me the most.