Perhaps half of being creative -and we all are even if we rarely think about it, is that what we create is either accepted or rejected. To take it personally as an acceptance of yourself or every other thing you create is not only unproductive but foolish. When you somehow get a sense of rejection, to get depressed or to lash out in defense are two of several roads you can take to going downhill fast -and neither will "fix" what you wish: "LOVE this and LOVE you! Thanks for sharing!"
Early on in life we have to balance our own acceptance of criticism which helps us grow and bloom better blooms, with actual and sometimes harsh (or at least we feel it is) disdain.
Creatives often wear their heart on their sleeve and can become very touchy, quite sensitive to anyone who dislikes their artistic or other creative offerings. As such plenty of artists move as far away from people as they can only giving time and space to allies who seem to appreciate their art -and appreciate them as people.
Thus there ends up being a kind of continual or more-than-helpful chasm between artists and others. We can wall ourselves off from people but not our own inner feelings of distrust, dislike and dismay when we believe we're being slighted.
Early on in my life I recognized not everything I said, wrote, performed (as a musician, etc.) or in some way passed out for public inspection and response was going to be considered good much less great by everybody! We all know this but navigating it takes thought, prayer, a greater commitment to God's Word than our own thoughts apart from it. Or not, because of even as a follower of Jesus, of course you can just yo-yo between fruit of the Spirit with attitudes of grace for ALL or in various ways begin "swinging your fists" verbally or otherwise in wanting to defend your work.
Look, some critique is going to sting no matter who brings it your way, no matter how they communicate it! Focusing on the content, the technical point/s made and whether there is any truth and reality in the criticism is the issue.
The other is that Jesus calls us to love them even if they don't love or even like -you-.
I learned to pray, to talk things over with trusted, godly and more mature leaders who were often themselves artists, who understood the natural acceptance/non-acceptance of created works and creative people. This truly helped me keep plowing the field God gave me, called me and gifted me to plow.
To use a phrase both as a metaphor and in a practical way, -self-editing- is one part of the process while having one or more "editors" often teaches us to read, see, hear, view (re. various creative forms) our work as others may. As a musician, an excellent engineer and producer or co-producer (and sometime several) has been a major help to my musical offerings. Believe me, I hear the difference when I do things entirely by myself!
So, hopefully this can be of help to creatives who need to guard heart as well as continue to progress with their art.
And as always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn
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