I feel like the illustration above could be a little more inclusive because not only do I sometimes have trouble putting thoughts onto paper, but also turn ideas into tangible/digital creations and execute visions exactly as I envision them.Last night I spent several hours fiddling with a new blog layout and was thisclose to clicking "Apply to Blog" just to get something started, but I couldn't do it. I wasn't completely satisfied. And now this morning I'm thinking that everything I did last night was absolute crap. Bah!
Same goes for other creative work. I know everything I do could be SO much better because what I do still doesn't compare to how it looks inside my head. Somewhere along the route from brain to fingertips things get a little wonky and my recognizing this is what frustrates me to no end. This actually reminds me of a great quote from radio personality Ira Glass on good taste that's stuck with me the last few months (via Kottke):
"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."
I know there is no progress without action and learning from both the good and bad, but it's also hard to present something you feel is subpar. That said, it's such a wonderful feeling when you do manage to bring an idea to life and it turns out pretty awesome. Those are the moments I want to strive for, but in order to get there I know I have to go through many disappointing ones along the way. *womp, womp*
Have you ever let your disappointments keep you from trying again?
Image: pinterest.com