The lead story this week is about the boldness required to share your own work of art - be it music, poetry or visual art. It requires courage, and it can sometimes feel like a jump in high waters. But it’s necessary, that’s the core of the creative process. As Will Gompertz explains:
“Doubts is there to stop us at those moments when we feel confident - or foolish - enough to put the fruits of our creativity in the line of critical fire. It is at this moment that our modesty kicks in and stops us before we shame ourselves.
At the time, it feels like a relief. It even feels quite good. Humility, after all, is an honourable quality. But not always when it comes to creativity, when it can be nothing more than a big sofa to hid behind. Daunting and unnatural as it may seem, boldness is required to release ideas into the world, even though it can feel alien and arrogant. I mean, who do I think I am? Some kind of geniuses? Surely there are far more talented people than me out there who deserve the attention?
And so it goes: humility applies the handbrake to our creativity. In truth, we have chickened out. We wanted to share our ideas and originality with the world but we didn’t dare.
The fact is, in order to create you have to take a leap of faith; not just in yourself, but also in your fellow man. You have to trust the world to judge you fairly. Yes, you will receive criticism. And yes, it will hurt. Sometimes a lot. You may well hear a chorus of disapproval. But this sense of rejection will likely be no more than anybody else has endured; consider it a rite of passage.” Will Gompertz
