The Art of Walking Your Own Path with Compassion

Last year I had the opportunity to complete a diploma in graphic design. It felt like a pivotal moment in my life—a call to step onto a new path. While my work as a clinical psychologist was very fulfilling, I felt like I was always on the brink of burning out. Despite trying to shapeshift myself and my life to make my career more sustainable, I couldn’t find a healthy balance. Pursuing the diploma became a way forward, a chance to step into something new and see how I felt in a different career.

I approached this journey with self-awareness. I had spent years learning about patterns of thinking and behaviour and their impact on our wellbeing. I recognised that my inner critic, though a familiar companion, often weighed me down with comparisons and self-doubt, and certainly played a role in my burn out. I had learned to be more compassionate to myself, but I still had a long way to go. I resolved to approach challenges with compassion, allowing my creative spirit to thrive without the weight of perfectionism.

The first few months of the graphic design course were a dream. I was given permission for my inner creative spirit to be set free, and I felt for the first time in years that I didn’t have to hide my true self. I felt constantly inspired and excited for what my future held as a designer. I found wonderful teachers and friends on my course who supported and challenged me, and I was learning so much.

One day, our teachers told us about a design competition that was coming up called World Skills. We would be given a design brief and challenged to complete it in one day. They strongly encouraged all of us to take part and said it would give us a taste of what being a graphic designer ‘in the real world’ was like. My instincts told me this wasn't the kind of environment where I thrived—my creativity blossoms with time, reflection, and space to explore.

This also aligned with what I had learned during my psychology training. Creativity and problem-solving flourish when we feel safe and supported. In contrast, stress and pressure can heighten our threat responses, making it harder to access the calm, focused mindset needed for complex tasks—especially when learning something new. Despite my reservations, I decided to embrace the discomfort and take part in the competition. I set the intention that I would treat myself with compassion throughout the day so that I could try my best to balance out my threat system. 

As soon as we received the brief, all of those good intentions went out the window. My watch registered a ‘high heart rate’ notification of 124 bpm at 9 a.m. that day, right at the beginning of the task - hello threat system! My inner critic took over as the hours ticked by, whispering that I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t belong in this world of design. By the final hour, I was overwhelmed, struggling with even basic tasks. My compassionate voice had been drowned out.

The following day, I felt calmer and ready to reflect. I turned to an assignment due in the next month: creating a typographic mural with an inspirational message. Searching for the right words, I recalled advice from Meera Lee Patel, an illustrator and writer I admire. Her response to a question I had asked when interviewing her for a previous project resonated deeply:

Dear Self,
You are choosing to take the more difficult path. You are choosing to put yourself in the path of rejection, internal challenge, and perpetual reflection-- of yourself, your thoughts, and your work. Although this journey feels difficult, uninspiring, and absolutely lonely at times--it is the journey you are meant to be on because it will lead you back to yourself. At the end of it, you will have the thing you’ve always wanted: belief in yourself, your voice, and your abilities. Stop looking elsewhere for validation. You are your best thing.

These words were exactly what I needed. I distilled her wisdom into a single sentence for my artwork: Walk your own path, and you will find yourself. Creating the artwork became an act of self-compassion.

It reminded me to honour my unique journey, even with its struggles. It also reinforced an important truth: as I expected, while I had changed my environment, my inner critic had come with me. Cultivating self-compassion is an ongoing practice—one that I must carry with me, no matter where I go. The resulting artwork from this moment is below.

Reflecting on the competition, I realised that despite the pressure, my work wasn’t as flawed as I had believed. I could see traces of my artistic style, even in the rushed outcome. More importantly, the experience helped me clarify what I value in a work environment: a space that fosters creativity through mindfulness rather than stress. This insight led me to a job at a small studio that shares these values.

Compassion isn’t about avoiding challenges; it’s about meeting them with kindness, curiosity, and the courage to grow. No matter what happens in life, this principle will continue to guide me—reminding me to walk my own path, one compassionate step at a time.

This post originally appeared on Gráinne’s personal substack, The Mind Drawer.