To create is to bring something into existence. And I think that the scariest part of bringing something into existence is allowing it to exist once you've made it. To do that, the creative process has to end. Decisions have to have all been made. Changes have to stop. No more edits. No more adjustment. The work has to stop, and once it does, that marks the beginning of the product's life - when it's individual purpose can be fulfilled. After all, art has a purpose. A book must be read. A painting must be seen. A play must be preformed.
Now...one could be the kind of person that creates and hides. Someone who makes something for the purpose of making it and never offers it up to the world. But that's weak sauce. That's cowardly. Oh, we've all got that squeaky little neurotic voice shouting things inside of heads - "But what if no one likes the work?" "What if I suck?" "What if my work is entirely derivative and unoriginal?" Ultimately, we ask, "What if my time spent creating was wasted?"
Well, that's an interesting point to make. One that I think applies to most things. We don't always succeed. We fail. So what? Worst case scenario, we DO feel like we've wasted our time. And if our endeavors don't feel valuable, then it can very difficult to continue.
When you get down to it, we really have two choices. We can stop that action, knowing full well that we don't do it well and we shouldn't spend our time on it anymore. OR, and this is a big or, we can learn from what failed, make adjustments, and improve.
OR...we can acknowledge that our time has been valuable and that we don't suck. Self doubt is a bitch isn't it?
Now...one could be the kind of person that creates and hides. Someone who makes something for the purpose of making it and never offers it up to the world. But that's weak sauce. That's cowardly. Oh, we've all got that squeaky little neurotic voice shouting things inside of heads - "But what if no one likes the work?" "What if I suck?" "What if my work is entirely derivative and unoriginal?" Ultimately, we ask, "What if my time spent creating was wasted?"
Well, that's an interesting point to make. One that I think applies to most things. We don't always succeed. We fail. So what? Worst case scenario, we DO feel like we've wasted our time. And if our endeavors don't feel valuable, then it can very difficult to continue.
When you get down to it, we really have two choices. We can stop that action, knowing full well that we don't do it well and we shouldn't spend our time on it anymore. OR, and this is a big or, we can learn from what failed, make adjustments, and improve.
OR...we can acknowledge that our time has been valuable and that we don't suck. Self doubt is a bitch isn't it?
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