It’s settled. Your senior portfolio is complete, you’ve wrapped up your internship and you’ve landed your first paid job in the industry. You’re going to be a professional designer.

You’ve spent countless hours gushing over shots on Dribbble, bought every book from A Book Apart, and followed every Brooklyn Beta presenter on Twitter – all in preparation for that first “real” design project where you’ll prove you have what it takes. The time has come and you’re pumped to start. You open a blank canvas in Photoshop, head buzzing with inspiration, and begin. A few hours pass…then a few more. You begin to realize that it’s not as easy as it looks…

Unfortunately, this is far too common an experience amongst aspiring designers, and a situation that can be quite stressful for someone trying to make their first mark in the industry. Passion for good design lends itself to setting high personal standards, which in the competitive world of design, is a must. These standards can become somewhat of a catch 22 as you find yourself in the middle of a project that isn’t living up to personal or professional expectations. Nagging questions like “Why doesn’t my design look as good as theirs?” or “What are they doing differently?” may begin to surface, and the effect can be sobering. When plagued by thoughts that you may not be good enough or that you may never be able to attain the level of skill necessary to excel in the field, it’s easy to give up. Design often is a roller coaster of emotions – one minute you can’t wait to hit the ground running on a new project, and the next you’re at your wits end trying to make it look top notch. Every good designer strives to create compelling work that stands out from all the rest, so it is easy to feel disheartened when you become aware of the gap between your work and the work that you admire.

In times of self-doubt, it’s important to think about why you chose this field in the first place. Chances are, you had a passion for it – a gut feeling that moved you when you saw something you liked. Maybe you pushed a button on a site, not because you cared where it took you, but because you had to see if it looked just as polished when pressed. Or maybe you spent hours figuring out what made that combination of typefaces work so perfectly in that header. Perhaps it was the subtle background texture that you felt was so unexpectedly fitting. The irony of it all is that as successful as you are at qualifying good design from bad, you’re not yet able to create the things you admire.

This is perfectly normal. It’s okay to just be okay in the beginning of your career. In fact, as difficult as it is to believe, even great designers have gone through a period when they knew what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be. It is incredibly rare for someone to consistently create amazing work without pushing through those awkward learning phases, and it has happened to the best of them. Take a look at Jason Santa Maria’s first web design. Or how about an early design by Cameron Moll. These designers have willingly displayed their old work to highlight a very important point: never let go of your passion for design. They began their careers in the same position as everyone else but their love of design pushed them to work incredibly hard and enabled them to create a large body of work over many years. Thus, they were able to refine their skills and become great. The point being, this stuff takes time. But as long as you keep producing and building a solid foundation, your ongoing passion will fuel the momentum of your career and carry you through periods of self-doubt. Even if the improvement is slow, thrive and build on small victories – use them to propel yourself forward.

Consider yourself lucky to have joined a group of people who thrive on change, excellence, and collaboration. Because of shared enthusiasm and passion for their work, you have entered a community that provides an enormous network of support, and has many forums that can be used to your advantage. If you find yourself losing momentum, don’t be afraid to ask designers that you admire for advice. I have found that most people are more than willing to take the time to provide insight and personal knowledge for a fellow designer, regardless of experience or standing. Try using social media platforms for exposure and feedback; I think you may be pleasantly surprised by the magnitude of the response. Leslie Jensen-Inman, when speaking about the journey of a designer on A List Apart, stressed the importance of creating connections in saying “…that is what the web truly is – people collaborating and learning together.” And it is all of these things – practice, dedication, interest, immersion, transparency, and maintaining your passion – that will bring you closer to closing the gap and propel you toward becoming the designer you are striving to be.

Remember, design by its nature isn’t science; you can’t get it right every time, but every failure is an opportunity to grow and expand. So be persistent, be passionate, be collaborative and take chances because at its core, that is the creative process.