I found this article very helpful and extremely insightful. I have never even considered myself much of a writer, yet this article seems to apply to more than just writing. It is so true that when you start on a creative venture of any kind, it is critical to find ways to improve. Often our own insights are insufficient to fill the gaps and we must draw on the experience of others. But what about when we are working professionally? It was very intriguing to see a real writer tell us that even she asks for the critique of others before submitting a final draft. I have often been the kid that was too shy to show my works to anyone because I didn't feel that it was good enough. Reading this article, it dawned on me that that is the point. It shouldn't be good enough to us, if we truly want to improve. In striving to improve our own work, we must submit it for an outsider's opinion.
This is not to say that we should open ourselves up to abuse. I am reminded of when Jesus explained that we should not cast our pearls before swine. Why show our work to someone who will only berate it and belittle us? This author had a great point that life is too short to let little things get in the way of us seeking our greatest potential. There will always be ways in which we can improve ourselves, and we want to find others who will help us reach that, not so they will condemn our work unnecessarily. The article was comically extreme in its advocation of totally dismissing these pessimistic people, but really- there is no reason to surround ourselves with such garbage. Time is too limited. So, I guess the moral of the story is that we should let others read our work and allow for mistakes to be fixed, but there's no place for pessimism. I found myself very motivated after reading this article.
I know exactly how you feel. Often I am very embarrassed or anxious to show my work to other people because I feel that it is insignificant and not good enough. This however is a terrible way of thinking and I think that you and I both learned a lot about accepting ourselves from this reading. I also enjoyed how this professional author even feels nervous and vulnerable when showing her work to others. It makes me feel like I am not completely crazy and unprofessional for being a little nervous.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree that there is no place for pessimism. Not only is it destructive and useless to our work and our self esteems, but it is something that we need to remember when critiquing other people's work as well. They are asking for constructive criticism and we need to keep our minds open.