Episode 8: Critique Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Have you been too scared to share your work? Worried that someone will critique you and you’ll want to run away and hide?

Ugh. It’s the worst right? You’re going about your day, doing what you know you’re good at (or at least feel like you’re faking you’re good at) and BAM!

You see someone killing it (or so it seems), and your heart drops. Your shoulders droop just a little bit lower than they were and you exhale…

A long, bummed exhale filled with the mean thoughts you tell yourself when you think no one’s listening.

(Ahem, you are listening, and it matters.)

That’s the kind of critique that happens when you feel like someone else’s success means something about where YOU are right now, and it can leave you feeling too scared to share your own work.

I know you get that someone else’s success doesn’t really mean anything about yours, but I know you’ve also probably felt that exact thing.

“Why are they so much better than I am?” “Ugh, I wish I could do that like she does.”

That, my dear, is self-critique.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about what critique really means, when it matters, and when it doesn’t.

We’ll also talk about the big one. Online critique.

Ugh…that smarts, don’t it?

It’s people who are bored. And sad. And probably, lonely.

Now, please keep in mind, I’m not just throwing platitudes at you on this. I’m also not excusing other people’s bad behavior.

But we have an epidemic of disconnection, disorientation and loneliness on our hands at the moment.

I recently read an amazing article called The American Life is Killing You by Erik Rittenberry – It’s about a 10 minute read. You can click here to check it out.

The article is a clear perspective on our need to consume, and Erik details how we’ve hidden ourselves inside our homes of plaster and wood, glued ourselves to our devices of plastic and glass, so we can avoid noticing that low-level hum of discontent, disconnection and disappointment.

So the next time you get a critic on your back, take heart. It means you’re big enough to be seen.

By the end of the episode, you’ll know how to dance (instead of cry!) when someone has something to say that feels negative – even when that “someone” is you.