Own Your Work!

As socially connected beings, we naturally care about what others think and we seek out exterior guidance. It is not healthy and constructive to seek out professional or market based criticisms about what you are creating. If you are not selling what you are creating, obviously the market doesn't matter to you as much as close relationships. If you are the opposite, you may only worry what the market thinks and not weigh the opinions of family and friends so heavily.

For many years, I have asked my clients what they wanted and they would tell me to do what I want aka what I think would look best. That is a completely fair response that sometimes unhinged me because it is such an open ended response. But if a doctor asked me how might be best to approach it without any insight to the problem, my answer would be the exact same as theirs. Do what is best! I have slowly developed the confidence to create the work without trying to include them in every step of the process. It is important to keep them involved and up to date but there is a point where it becomes burdensome on both parties.

We as creatives (chefs, painters, designers, engineers, etc.) must build a confidence on top of hours of hard work and solid resilience to new and recurring problems. We must be willing to put our foot down to protect our work and we must be aware that we can always do better and input is usually beneficial.

Own what you do. Do it passionately and with extreme courage. You will hit uncertainty and depressive periods but they fuel stability and happy periods. You can't have the good without the bad so enjoy the process and be proud of what your hard work produces every day!