Try to Love Your Work in the Future
Escapee Speaks:
I recently wrote a post called Try to Hate Your Work in the Future, where I explored the idea that growing to dislike your work can actually be a sign of progress and improvement.
In response to the post, Anthony Grimaldi made some great points in the comments that I’d like to highlight here, because they shed some light on the other side of the equation.
Anthony says:
All the time I look at previous work and think “Maybe this is why I have difficulty succeeding as an artist and designer.” However, I also always feel a sense of pride in whatever piece I accomplished, even when hated by myself and others. These pieces are relevant to your particular growth and development and are crucial to the learning process. You yourself are standing on the shoulders of your own work, good or bad, and they serve as new starting points or jumping off points to different, new and excellent work.
I’d like to thank Anthony for pointing out that it is important to maintain pride, or even love, for your work as it settles its way down to the lower ranks of your overall collection. After all, you may not be creating the quality of work that you are today if you had never created the work that you now hate. In addition, this mindset helps you to practice your art for its own sake, rather than pass harsh judgement on your own craft.
Escapee has spoken.
Have you ever had a similar experience? I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments.
Related Post:
Try to Hate Your Work in the Future
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Yes! I actually find it to encouraging, when I am working on something obsessively (and have perhaps reached the unfortunate point where I am only seeing what I think is WRONG with it!), to look back at some things that I have done in the past that perhaps didn’t turn out so well… it helps me to put things into perspective, and to realize that EVERY thing I do doesn’t have to/isn’t going to be the best thing that I’ve ever done. Do it anyway! I can always try again…
I also notice that the opposite thing sometimes happens with something that you don’t think is working/ isn’t so great- put it away and don’t look at it for a while, and then, seeing it with fresh eyes, it may not be so bad after all. I need to do this sometimes (aforementioned obsessive hypercriticality!)
Thanks, Amanda. It’s amazing how dynamically our brains interact with our work, and how vast our field of emotions is in response to it.
Thomas