Creativity and Rejection
Creativity can be very personal. At its best, our creativity comes from the heart, from a place deep inside that feels unique to us. That’s why starting a new project or sharing your next venture with the world can actually feel quite sensitive. It is brave to put yourself out there this way. If you are someone who has a regular practice of sharing their creativity, congratulations, you have overcome a hurdle that stops many people from moving forward in a field they genuinely love. For those of you who are stopped in front of that hurdle of vulnerability, don’t give up! It is worth it to conquer your fears of rejection in order to share the work that you do.
For all of us that are on this journey of creative expression, putting the work out there is only the first part. For many people, it’s the fear of what happens next that stops them from creating in the first place. Even for those people who have a golden idea or an amazing artistic vision, its actually quite rare that they get the reception they were hoping for on the first go. All the best artists and businesspeople have to face rejection before their work reaches its full potential. And thank heaven that they do face their fears and once again approach the chopping block or the editing table or the email inbox (where most deals are negotiated these days). Without the bravery and resilience of our beloved artists, we wouldn’t have many ,or any, of the movies, music, or books that we love today.
So, what’s the key to moving forward when you feel misunderstood or underestimated? There is no one universal trick that works for everyone to move through rejection. Rejection is a lot like love. Everyone feels its in a different way. Just like love, rejection deserves to be celebrated, or grieved. Thats a fancy way of saying that its okay to take time to be sad. Don’t just be sad, though, listen to your sadness. Rejection is a space where the little voices of doubt can really start to makes themselves heard. Can you listen to what they have to say and not take it all as truth? Try to listen to the most critical voice in your head but turn the volume down on it enough so that it doesn’t turn you off from the message that may be help you to develop your craft.
Rejection creates an opening for evaluation. Let’s use the example of the art proposal that I submitted which was not selected for funding. Had I received the grant, I would be locked in and committed to completing my project the way that I proposed it through the application. Since I didn’t get the grant, I don’t feel committed to my project the way that I proposed it. I feel free to look at my project and pick out the parts of it that feel most exciting to me and to reframe it in a way that feels more exciting, easier to produce, or better suits my goals as an artist. There is still another version of me that feels so affirmed by getting that grant and bringing my project to life just the way imagined it, but this freedom to reinvent myself can be a gift and at the very least a valuable tool to continue to grow as an artist.
Still not sure where to start? I’ll break it down into a few steps:
Feel your feelings
Listen to your inner critic
Re-evaluate your approach
Make room for new inspiration
Put yourself out there again
