well, now that that sick feeling of failure has passed, I can say that my uncle has an excellent point of view on failure and mistakes. if you make a mistake, or fail at something, then that gives you the knowledge to know how not to make that same mistake. our Ego tries to convince us that we are not worthy of success, and eloquently designs an argument for the inevitability of failure. we must not listen to this false face of self. I know now that what I took for demeaning criticism was no more than an illumination of where I had flaws. am I perfect? no. so why should I be so sensitive and critical about someone else's opinion of what I write? my friend Jason said that many great writers' works are criticized at least one point in their career. this makes a lot of sense. it's possible that my critics were only helping me to understand my errors, and bring to light that I need to work harder on the next draft. it is interesting how quickly our Egos can be bruised. does it matter if I don't get it 100% perfected? if I was that type of writer, there would be no use in writing, because you learn from the mistakes that you make. I can go back to my paper this weekend and make obvious corrections, and rewrite a better, more thorough paper, one that is concise and sharper. we all need the whetting stone in our lives, it is what sharpens our styles, our minds, our lives. now that I've rebounded from my supposed "failure," I know I can get back to what I want to perfect: writing. and I believe I've said in a previous entry that perfection is not a destination, it is a journey. the more I write, the more I learn, but also the more mistakes I will make, which will ultimately lead to correction. it's all a process of evolution; if you love what you do, you will seek the mistakes so that you can lead your skill to razorblade sharpness. the mistakes we make take us through the cycle of learning, and ultimately assist us in the pursuit of whatever we do.
keep writing.
Dr. Stephen Strange
No comments:
Post a Comment