What Other People Think
When I was a teenager, someone told me they liked that I didn't care what people thought about me. My immediate reaction was to think:
Wait, what do people think about me?
No matter how hard we try as creatives, it’s nearly impossible to truly not care what other people think. Any time we share our work, there's a weird mix of feelings ranging from “I'm really proud of this, and I don't give a shit what anyone else thinks,” to “god, I hope people like this.”
And of course we want people to like the things we make. We work hard on them. We want an audience to see their value. That makes it easy to get caught up in the negative feedback.
Constructive critiques can be a vehicle for growth, but maybe criticism isn’t what you need in the moment right after you share your work with the world. Maybe that’s not the time when hearing opinions can help you can grow. Maybe it’s the best time to channel the whole “not caring what anyone thinks” thing as much as you can.
There’s nothing wrong with focusing on the good comments and experiencing the joy of people liking what you’ve made. Those people got what you were going for. Which fucking rules.
When sharing your work, you can be proud of where you are creatively and leave the growing for the next project. Take a beat and enjoy what you’ve done.
My friends said I should throw a party when I released my EP a few months ago. I thought, “Sure but it’s just a few songs and I’ve got so many more I’m working on. It’s not that big a deal.” They said, “But you’ve been working really hard on this for a really long time and you should celebrate it.”
And you know what? They’re right. Throw yourself a little party and celebrate your creative accomplishments, even if that just means going to a restaurant you love.
You made something from nothing. Now is the time to celebrate — not the time to care what anyone else thinks about you.
But also, like… What do people think about me???
