As artists, we put a part of ourselves into every work we create. And
when our work isn't met with the enthusiasm in which it was created, it
can be very disheartening. We have all had the experience of a less
than stellar reaction on occasion.
IMG_4985
Any Budding Artist
Such reactions can bring back childhood memories of a parent asking
"what is it" and cause us to feel just as deflated as when we were 5
years old.
Have you ever wondered why a loved one reacted the way they did? How
could they not know what it is? The answer is simple but maybe not so
obvious.
They can't see what you saw.
They cannot feel the thing that excited you so much you had to capture
it.
Whether we pressed on or laid down our crayons forever depends on how
we handled those less than glowing reviews.
_____
Fast forward to adulthood.
The following isn't about the critic who simply can't see what you see.
We all know people who are critical or will come across them in our
lives. Whether it has to do with art or any endeavor in which we have
invested our best selves, it is how we handle the negative feedback
that matters.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs
and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without
error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best,
knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the
worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither
victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
_____
I include a link to a talk given by Brene Brown
who also addresses the above quote and tells
how it changed her life. It was a game changer for her and can be for
you too. Click here: In the Arena
All the best, Gaye
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