when your creative persona becomes your cage

We all have a persona. Most of us didn’t build it on purpose.

We don’t wake up one day and decide: “I’m going to shape a version of myself that’s easier to digest.” Yet, we kept tabs open on how we got validation, recognition, what made people respond faster, or what could give us a sense of belonging. Basically, we learned how to get a reward and our own concept of safety through repetition.

Somewhere in this process, we learn also to suppress parts of ourselves that were “too different” so we can fit in.

The same thing happened with your creative work.

We are adapting creatures, so the slow and unconscious process of replacing your real creative energy with a version that is more likeable and more palatable, becomes barely visible.

In a world that rewards identity and consistency (so we perceive safety) through perfect pictures, perfect work, and a perfect aesthetic, the more this masked version works, the more disconnected you feel.

Your creativity knows when you’re not being real. Even if you're excelling technically, your body knows. Your nervous system knows. And when it builds up, this friction, usually as creative blocks or burnout, you feel lost in your own practice.

The persona is your “adaptive” self: this version of you that has shaped itself to survive in all realms of life, including relationships, culture, expectations, and environments. And it’s not a bad thing. It’s a brilliant defense mechanism.

The adaptive self learns how to protect itself. The problem starts when you start to identifying only with the persona, thinking that this is you. So, you start doubting your desires and begin to overthink everything you do. Or worse, you hold back completely and disengage in your creative pursuits. And this will cause you to lose access to your creative source, which was never intended to be filtered or shut down in the first place.

I’ve said it before, and I try my very best to keep this at the top of my mind: Creativity requires risk, which means emotional exposure. You know when you see something that makes you feel, cry, laugh, or be reflective. They took a risk of putting something out that moved you. It’s the same, just the other way around.

When you build your expression around being liked, you end up limiting your own range. Your creative range.

Here’s what that can look like:

• You hesitate when new ideas come.

• You fear putting out emotionally honest work.

• You don’t trust your instincts anymore, you wait to see what will “work best.”

• You keep taking courses or saving posts… but never feel “ready.”

• You second-guess your ideas, even the ones that excite you.

That’s not a creative problem.
That’s an unconscious problem, until now.

Your creative gold lies there, in the shadows. This self-protection may have brought you here, but it won’t take you very far on your creative journey. You have to face it to bring it to life. This self-protection mode is completely reversible, no matter how impossible you think it is.

You won’t find the real answer through another strategy, another niche, or another polished “version” of yourself. You’ll find it in the parts you’ve been avoiding.

Here’s how to begin that reconnection:

There’s no one-size-fits-all for shadow work. But there is a process, a structure, that helps you look inward without spiralling or getting lost.

How deep you go depends on where you are in your self-awareness.
But these five movements can guide your next layer of creative clarity:

1. Get brutally honest about where you are now.

What is your current experience of creativity? Not the one you present to others, but the one that lives in your body?

• Do you feel free or careful when you create?

• What do you wish you were brave enough to make?

2. Identify the personas you carry out.

What roles have you built to be likable, strategic, or safe?

• What parts of you only show up “on brand”?

• Where are you trying to sound right instead of real?

3. Track your creative shame.

What parts of your past made you believe you had to “sustain” to be accepted?

• What made creativity feel risky?

• What stories did you internalize about being “too different”?

4. Pinpoint your real blocks.

What are the beliefs that keep you frozen?

• Are you scared of being misunderstood?

• Do you feel guilt around ambition, desire, or taking up space?

5. Decide what needs to be released.

This is where shadow work becomes a source of power. When you stop waiting to feel ready or perfect… and instead ask:

• What truth am I afraid to admit to myself?

• Who do I become if I stop filtering?

If this stirred something in you… You’ll probably resonate with the Shadow Workbook for Creatives.

I created it with 50 prompts that guide you through this exact process, not to provide answers, but to help you ask better questions. The ones that lead to clarity, expression, and self-trust inside your creativity.

It's not for everyone, but if you're ready to look underneath the block, this might be the space you've been needing.

📓 Grab the Shadow Workbook Here
50 prompts · 20 pages · Designed for artists, thinkers, creators and deep feelers.

Start telling the truth, even if just to yourself.

Thanks for reading,

Yoli