Bad

As creators, we’re bound by this idea that all our creative works need to be perfect. We’re so obsessed with the need to be flawless that a lot of us are paralyzed by the idea of putting something out there that is… bad. To put things simply, the gnawing feeling at the back of our minds is the fear of failure.

You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Even though there is only a 1-5% probably of scoring - Wayne Gretzky

None of us sets out to create a bad work of art. But most of us stop creating because we think that what we’re about to create is going to be bad, snuffing the life out of a work of art before it reaches its full potential.

Maybe it’s not a huge surprise that most creators are bound by their thoughts when most creative works come from the human mind. The same mind that can conjure up wondrous imaginative works is also the same mind that creates an infinite amount of potential ways that your creativity will fail you.

Failing is a part of the creative process. So is creating work that is subpar. We’re only human and it’s through our failures that we’re able to learn from our mistakes and get better at creating future works. One could argue failing teaches you more than successes do. The resolution of a mistake is noticeable and it informs you that this isn’t something you should do in the future. Whereas a success is successful, but what contributed to that success is a huge culmination of factors that make it difficult to ascertain what actually made it successful and what to focus on in the future. If we looked at it like electrical wiring, it would be the technician removing unnecessary wires or wires that are causing a short. Only leaving the wiring that is necessary for success. In the same way, our mistakes teach us what we shouldn’t do so that we can focus on what we should.

Let’s see how the gym rats do it. At the start of their journey, they have two options. Pick a random gym and do their workouts as and when they feel like it or the second option, sign up for a gym membership and get a trainer. Which method do you think would kickstart the journey? It would be the one where the gym rat signs up for the membership and the trainer. On the outset, you’re motivated to workout because of the financial investment you’ve made. But more importantly, with a trainer you’re getting feedback on your workouts immediately. Some might feel that gym rats are vain for filming themselves as they workout or wonder what’s the point of those huge mirrors, but they serve as a way for the gym rat to assess their workouts and make adjustments. With a trainer, this feedback is shortened and immediately once your form is off the trainer will let you know about it.

It’s this feedback that is so necessary for growth. But some of us have become so fearful of receiving it that our creative works never get made in the first place. And we start to scroll through social media. Woah, so many people telling us about their successes, sharing their wins and triumphs over adversity, and most of all sharing their wonderful work that seems to get ignored because they are telling you that social media algorithms don’t work. Immediately, there’s this weight that comes crashing down on top of you and a wave of doubt just hits you in the face. What’s the point of me putting in the hardwork when all these amazing people are also struggling.

But one has to ask where this doubt is coming from? Is it because we all have great taste and thus find our own work subpar? That we have a gap in our skills and what we find acceptable as Ira Glass described in his article called The Gap? But if you’ve read the article, he points out the only way to close this gap is to keep putting out work.

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through. - Ira Glass

So prepare for a lot of bad work. Put stuff out there. Get feedback. Improve. But never stop creating.