Even the best performers receive 1 star reviews and boos when they try something out that doesn’t work. “She should stick to what she’s good at.” But, it doesn’t stop them. The best performers consistently reinvent themselves because change is essential. If every song follows the style of the first hit, it’ll mark certain death.
While there probably is art and science to making change without alienating those who follow you, this post is about the other useful skill – building immunity. A 1-star review on Amazon, a boo when you are performing, or an insult to your face never stops hurting. But, over time, top artists learn to be immune enough so it hurts a little bit but not too much.
How? By doing what’s painful.
When you start out playing the guitar, there’s no way to avoid the pain caused by cuts in your fingers. Over time, however, those cuts lead to hardened skin which in turn mean less pain. The pain doesn’t ever entirely go away. We just become immune to its intensity. The pain is important because it shows we still feel and creating art requires us to be in touch with those feelings. The immunity, however, reminds us that there are things more important than that pain.
So, if you’re worried about being criticized, go do something (it doesn’t matter what) – the criticism will follow. if you’re worried about failing, go do something (again, it doesn’t matter what) – the failure will follow as well. Action -> initial encouragement -> pain -> failure -> more pain -> immunity -> creating stuff we are proud of.
Time to take the first step.
A Learning a Day 