Battling Head-in-Sand Syndrome as a Creative

How often have each of us buried our heads in the sand in an attempt to tune out noise, make our reality feel less real, avoid facing hard truths, or delay challenging tasks out of fear? Whether we’ve feared feeling emotions of inadequacy, feared the consequences of our actions (ahem, procrastination), feared others’ judgment, or feared that we just don’t have the means to accomplish a given task, fear has played the antagonizing villain role in the story of our barriers to success, peace, freedom, and self-actualization. That said, when we finally face reality and confront the challenge or task at hand, we typically find fear helped us create a gargantuan, vicious, blood-thirsty, seething monster that was just a cute bunny holding a butter knife. What we were actually hiding from and avoiding was not worth fearing at all. In fact, the time we spent in denial believing we had zero resources to deal with our situation created a bigger problem and even additional issues that were not originally present (e.g., loss of trust in relationships, more work, tighter deadlines, etc.).

With all this dramatic talk one might wonder whether I’m referring to a major life event, some form of trauma, or some other catastrophic situation; however, I’m not—well, not exactly. I use this narrative and metaphor of burying one’s head in the sand to help myself and other creatives of all sorts (e.g., writers, painters, dancers, singers, sculptors, etc.) as we contend with the tasks associated with creating our work. I first heard the phrase, “I was just burying my head in the sand” as an explanation from a doctoral advisee who disappeared on me for several months during a difficult semester she was experiencing. I was empathetic to her situation and recognized I had certainly been there myself and I am slowly emerging from a head-in-sand situation as I approach a writing deadline as I type this sentence. Since hearing the advisee use the phrase (albeit similar to the ostrich effect in which people avoid negative information, but not quite the same), it has provided helpful and powerful imagery for me to name behavior I’ve engaged in myself (typically for days or sometimes weeks) when I’ve neglected to complete a task in a timely manner or withdrawn from a situation completely.

At the root of head-in-sand behaviors for many creatives—and dare I say, ALL academics (yes, we ARE creatives, too!)—are limiting beliefs about who we are and what we are capable of accomplishing. Even after numerous achievements, we still second-guess, downplay, self-deprecate, resist self-promotion, and even avoid public recognition because of limiting beliefs born and bred from the dominant, oppressive narratives society has fed us (i.e., real [fill in the blank with a creative of your choice] talk, look, think, act, and work like this). If someone were to tell me during my first semester in graduate school, I’d still be experiencing the same feelings of impostor syndrome (in another context) as an associate professor with dozens of publications, conference presentations, and research experiences under my belt, I wouldn’t believe them. I’d call them a liar because there would be no way that somebody who co-edited a book, started a business, earned tenure, had two children, taught for more than a decade, and almost  40-years-old would be that unsure of themselves!  Alas, here I am.

By no complete fault of my own, I serve as one of many examples of Black women caught in the fray of anti-Blackness and sexism telling themselves they are not enough, consuming the lie that their ideas, their work, and they themselves are not worthy, leading to stress and burnout. hooks (2015) talked about such challenges in Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery, when she said, “If [B]lack women have not learned to value our bodies then we cannot respond fully to endangering them by undue stress” (p. 41). These messages are enough to send anyone into states of constant anxiety and depression, but when added to the weight of working in fields and disciplines fueled by the economy of passing judgment (we’ll call it peer review, assessment, and evaluation in the context of higher education), the outcome can be immobilizing. It is no wonder people disappear into the sand or worse. In a world dedicated to productivity, efficiency, people-pleasing, and appealing to the masses, the reality is we’re all living in quicksand facing an inevitable situation of becoming buried in the neoliberal muck that is existing in a capitalist society.

So, what’s the answer?

First, don’t let yourself get buried in the sand. Traipse carefully around it and remind yourself that the fear you’re creating (no matter how anxiety producing) can be extinguished by resisting limiting beliefs you were socialized to operate from each day whether as a protective, silencing, or ascending mechanism.

For example, “People won’t like me if I say ’no’/ask for more time/disagree/ask questions.”

Or this one, “I’m not [insert adjective] enough to say/write/create/do that.”

Or maybe this one, too: “People who think/look/act/talk like me don’t [fill in the blank].”

Resist these limiting beliefs and turn them into empowering statements.

For example, “I can say ’no’ and still maintain meaningful relationships.”

Or this, “I am bold enough, informed enough, and creative enough to do this!”

And this one, too: “People like me do [blank].”

Second, give yourself permission to be the person you can look up to. Make a list of these role models, paper mentors (Hersey, 2022), and maybe even digital strangers to whom you feel close. Of course, remember, these are also people who are not perfect, and you do not know everything about them. They have likely experienced head-in-sand syndrome before, too. Then, ask yourself, “what would someone I look up to do/think/say in this situation?”

Likely, that possibility model would not bury their head in the sand. They might draw a boundary, rest, re-evaluate their plans, have a direct conversation with someone, interrogate the source of the tension and dissonance, collaborate with others, or find support in another way, but they wouldn’t withdraw completely. Burying your head in the sand takes you out of the conversation altogether. If you are committed to your vision and values, you will avoid head-in-sand syndrome because you know it doesn’t serve your greater purpose and when you finally emerge you will have to deal with the situation anyway.

All of these actions are easier said than done, but the sheer ability to recognize that you’re engaging in head-in-sand behavior may be just the tactic needed to avoid remaining in that space. So, whether you’re dealing with less than delightful feedback from someone (e.g., a reviewer, student, boss, colleague, etc.) or on the cusp of taking a big step in your work (e.g., a new project, a career move, etc.), remember: your fears are just little bunnies holding butter knives in monster disguises purchased from the Halloween City of oppression, and all you need to do is unveil the Scooby-doo villain of the day to figure out it was just meddling kids all along! You’ve always known what to do!