Let us create a 3D eBook for you!
Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com

10 Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection


Ouch! Whether it's feedback we've asked for, an unsolicited remark called out from the audience or a simple "no" result of an audition or submission process, criticism and rejection are a huge part of our lives as creative artists.

Sometimes we're so fearful of being criticized or rejected that we keep our creativity bottled up and don't let it out. This article features 10 tools for dealing with criticism and rejection.

Other times we constantly adapt what we create, focusing only on the "market" and what they seem to be liking or disliking this week. Then we end up feeling like we're not truly expressing our creative impulses.

10 Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection

1. Be Open. You may be hoping for a specific reaction or response to your work, or a specific result of an audition, gallery submission, performance or contest entry. If you've done your best and you're rejected or criticized, you might feel that you've "failed", and it's probably hard to see anything positive about the situation. Try to be open to the possibility that this "failure" is actually leading you to something else, usually better than what you thought you wanted. As I read once in Cheryl Richardson's newsletter, "Any rejection is God's protection".

2. Be Consistent. Keep going, doing the little things every day that keep you creative and that keep you connected to other artists and to your customers. The dramatic moments and big wins and losses will come and go. Have a steady routine you can keep coming back to, and this will help to place any criticism or rejection into perspective. Today is a new day, another day you get to be an artist.

3. Be Focused. Keep your end goal in mind, and always be mindful of why you're doing what you're doing. That will help you focus on the big picture and not get tripped up by each bump in the road along the way.

4. Be Resilient. Remember that your sense of self-worth comes from inside of you. When you're able to be confident in yourself regardless of the feedback you get from external sources, you're able to bounce back much more easily from any negative feedback that you may get.

5. Be Positive. Focus your attention on the positive and you'll attract more of it. This is the premise of the "law of attraction", and I've certainly seen it work in my own life. Hear the positive feedback you receive and replay it over in your mind whenever you need to.

6. Be Clear. Approach constructive feedback with an accurate perspective, not muddled with thoughts from your own inner critic. Take it as a helpful tool for your own growth and remember that ultimately the only opinion that matters is your own - because you need to be happy with what you're producing.

7. Be Grateful. Be gracious to your critics, accept all of the feedback you receive, sit quietly and let it sink in. Be grateful to be actively creating - to have gotten past the fear and other roadblocks. Be grateful for the opportunity to have your work seen and heard. Some never get the chance.

8. Be Responsive. Decide consciously what to do with feedback before responding, instead of reacting with the first thought or words that come to mind.

9. Be Selective. Once you've decided what to do the feedback you've received, be selective and willing to let go of the hurtful feedback. This usually doesn't have anything to do with you anyway; it's a reflection of that person's own happiness, state of mind and comfort with themselves.

10. Be Loving. Be loving of your critic and ESPECIALLY of yourself. Plan some self-care treats for the day of the audition or submission. Regardless of the outcome, you deserve it!

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

© Linda Dessau, 2005

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. Feel like your creativity is blocked? Sign-up for your complimentary copy of the popular e-course, "Roadblocks to Creativity" by visiting http://www.genuinecoaching.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Creativity - Google News

Creativity is key to CEOs - NetworkWorld.com


Creativity is key to CEOs
NetworkWorld.com
More than sustainability, operational effectiveness, or even dedication, creative leadership is an essential asset to permeate an enterprise. ...

and more »

Creativity, vision fuels her passion - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle


Creativity, vision fuels her passion
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
When you work in nonprofit it is fast-paced, mission-driven, has variety each day and allows creativity and vision to come to reality. ...

and more »

Sears Launches 'Crush Your Style' Competition for Tweens Who Can Show Their ... - PR Newswire (press release)


Sears Launches 'Crush Your Style' Competition for Tweens Who Can Show Their ...
PR Newswire (press release)
Just in time for back to school, the new Sears digital program aims to find the kids with the creativity, guts and style chops to be number one. ...

and more »

Social media-focused ad firms look to hire - Crain's New York Business


Social media-focused ad firms look to hire
Crain's New York Business
NYC-based digital marketing startups are on the prowl for young creative types conversant in Facebook and Twitter. When Dylan Harvey graduated from ...

and more »

A Half Hour of Exercise Can Boost Creativity for Hours - Lifehacker


A Half Hour of Exercise Can Boost Creativity for Hours
Lifehacker
Small lengths of exercise produce long lengths of boosted creativity. Many people who exercise attribute the change in scenery to their creative ...

and more »

Executive chef known for ice sculpture talent, creativity with gingerbread - The Exponent


Executive chef known for ice sculpture talent, creativity with gingerbread
The Exponent
The executive chef for Purdue Memorial Union is well-known for his cooking talent, but it's the gingerbread houses and ice carvings that ...

and more »

Demiurge: Creativity Is Key, But So Is Pragmatism - Gamasutra


Demiurge: Creativity Is Key, But So Is Pragmatism
Gamasutra
by Staff Albert Reed, studio head of Demiurge Studios, holds a view that while creativity is key in coming up with game concepts, so is honing those ...
Demiurge's Road To CreativityGamasutra

all 2 news articles »

DDB's Matt Eastwood Named Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York - PR Newswire (press release)


DDB's Matt Eastwood Named Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York
PR Newswire (press release)
NEW YORK, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- DDB New York announced today that it has appointed Matt Eastwood as Chief Creative Officer. Eastwood, who is currently the ...

and more »

Jif® Calls for Entries in Ninth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter ... - PR Newswire (press release)


Jif® Calls for Entries in Ninth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter ...
PR Newswire (press release)
ORRVILLE, Ohio, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Jif is now accepting entries in the Ninth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. ...
Jif® Calls for Entries in Ninth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter ...Virtual Press Office (press release)

all 12 news articles »

Maker Faire puts the spotlight on creativity - Detroit Free Press


New York Times (blog)

Maker Faire puts the spotlight on creativity
Detroit Free Press
The two-day festival will showcase the creations of more than 260 inventors and other creative types from across the country this weekend at the Henry Ford ...
Maker Faire is coming, time to get your DIY on!AnnArbor.com

all 38 news articles »

Jumbuck Domain Is For Sale - $5,000 For Enquiries eMail Us

© www.Jumbuck.biz 2010

home | site map | links

 

eXTReMe Tracker