Consider the young child who completes his or her first drawing or painting. If you are the parent, you think it’s the work of a genius. If you are anyone else, you think it’s a charming blob.
But is the child embarrassed by the drawing? Do they feel a moment of low self-esteem or anxiety before they show it to you? No. They haven’t yet grasped the concept of good and bad, or good and better. They have simply created something.
It’s the same with the group of older boys who build their first fort out of scrap wood, cardboard and anything else they lay their hands on.
To most observers their finished fort looks like a total mess. To them, it’s a magical and utterly perfect fort.
It’s only later, after their schools have introduced them to the idea of something being graded as good or bad, that they stumble and lose the joy of simply creating something out of nothing.
By then they have to start worrying about whether it’s good enough, how it will be graded, and whether or not they have done as well as other kids in the class.
We can reasonably argue that this is part of growing up in the real world. There has to come a time when we judge and are judged.
I get that.
But it’s a shame that as adults we often choose not to create anything new or original. We become frozen. We stutter and we stumble.
We become scared to create, because we fear we will be judged.
I’m not suggesting you stop caring about the quality of your work. Far from it.
But I do think many of us hold back from creating our very best work because we are scared it might not work, or might be judged as foolish, or childish even.
When you were a child you were a prodigious creator. You created for the joy of it. It wasn’t about being better or best.
Try to add a little of that creative freedom into your work as a freelancer. Create a version of a project without any fear of it being judged or rejected.
It won’t always work. Much of this “childish” work may never be seen by anyone but you.
But try it anyway.
One day it might help you create your best piece of work ever.
Related Resources:
My ebook – Affirmations for Freelancers
My coaching service for freelancers…
About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…