The Inner Critics
Most artists have at least one inner critic whose voice is inescapable and whose opinions possess the ring of truth. Some will have a handful of critics. Some of us have to construct large imaginary arenas to hold them all.
The inner critic provides a valuable service. New artists, especially those from well-meaning families, will find themselves surrounded by encouraging people who constantly puff up their sensitive little egos. They say things like, “You’re more talented than anyone else.” “You can be anything you want to be.” “You’re the best ever.”
To be fair, they do this because they know that their thin-skinned, helpless babes are about to get crushed by a bloodthirsty, soulless and sociopathic reality. The inner critic suspects that all of this praise might be empty but doesn’t have much objective data on which to draw. Fortunately, upon venturing out into the world, some data will quickly become available.
Usually, this feedback confirms what the inner critic suspected all along. “This is just like when they said you looked cool in your scout uniform.” In the harsh light of the inner critic’s new evaluation of your work, it’s easy for “…this is not good” to translate into, “…I am not good.”
This is where the balancing act between learning from criticism and avoiding becoming paralyzed by it begins. Here are a few things I’ve learned in dealing with my inner critics.
1 – The Inner Critic focuses on negative feedback. Since the role of the inner critic is to help you refine yourself, it focuses on the negative feedback. This may skew the artist’s perception of their feedback as overly negative. It’s important to maintain perspective to give each item a reasonable amount of importance.
2 – The Inner Critic loves to pile on the criticism. The inner critic thoroughly enjoys adding more criticism to your load. Receive a new round of negative feedback? Your inner critic will pull out every negative thought it possibly can and throw it on the pile. You might think that jumping up and down on that pile might be overkill, but your inner critic will disagree.
3 – The Inner Critic can be ignored, temporarily. Yes, you can mute them for a limited time. Eventually, however, they’ll rip the duct tape from their mouths and let you have it. In addition to setting yourself up for a very unpleasant session with your inner critic, this also puts you in the position of ignoring potentially helpful advice/feedback. Rather than ignore the inner critic, it’s usually best to challenge them to produce objective evidence. If the criticism is largely subjective, you can weigh it to determine how much credence you will give it.
4 – The Inner Critic can be silenced (in time) by hard work. When an artist takes the criticism and gets to work honing their skill, the inner critic will continue to mumble, but will gradually grow quiet. What’s happening is that they are getting their popcorn and watching to see what you’re going to do. They know how hard the work is and how much you are investing in it. They’re waiting to see the outcome. The inner critic doesn’t give participation trophies for showing up for practice, but it does pay attention to the time and effort you put into improving your skills.
5 – The Inner Critic can become an Inner Fan. In reviewing your own work, your inner critic can see how you’ve progressed, how your skills have grown, and how much work you have invested in growing as an artist. In time, your inner critic may become a fan. I don’t mean a crazed stalker fan. I’m talking more about the sort of fan that knows what it takes to turn talent (which is nothing more than a slight head start) into skill. This is the fan who knows what they are talking about when they say something positive. This the one who provides realistic and constructive feedback instead of effusive empty praise.
6 – The Inner Critic is less cranky after a good night’s sleep. It just is. Caffeine helps, too.
Let me know if you have other hard-learned lessons about dealing with your inner critic. (Yes, I’m interested in short-cuts. Don’t tell the critics in the upper balcony.)
