Blue ribbon

While I was working on a short film, I spent an unhealthy amount of time worrying about things like:

  • What will people think of the finished product?
  • Is it good enough to get selected for the festival?
  • Does the film have a shot to win an award?

The common theme of all this anxiety was an attempt to answer the question “Is it good enough?”.

Although the thoughts that kept me awake at night may have seemed like legitimate concerns, none of these “problems” were within my scope to control.

So I decided to stop fretting about it.

I determined it was my job to create the film, and it was someone else’s job to curate the film.

And a strange thing happened.

Once I delegated the task of answering “Is it good enough?” to someone else, I had fewer things to worry about and I could focus on making the film and hitting the deadline.

The simple fact is: I would know if my work was “good enough” to make selection, because at some point in the future someone else would inform me.

And I was okay with that – no matter which way the decision went.

Fortunately story has a happy ending, and on opening night at the Sydney International Animation Festival I was able to see my film in front of a packed audience.

But what if I’d let the fear of “is it good enough” take over and tempt me into quitting?

By all means: set high standards and do the best you can, but save the judgement for other people at a later time.

When it comes to your own work, let other people play the role of critic.

Aspire to be a creator, not a curator.

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