In the final chapters of Big Magic, Liz Gilbert leans more into the discussion of success and failure. Because the end of the creative process involves putting your work out there, to be judged and critiqued by others, and sometimes even yourself. But it's a vital part of the process of being a creative individual.
There is a passage that says: "Failure has a function. It asks you whether you want to go on making things." A brilliant idea that can help define just how we view failures. But more importantly, Liz procures this question...
What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?"
What IS the thing you love doing so much? Why doesn't it matter to you whether you technically fail or succeed? What about it keeps you going with it? And furthermore, how do you define your own successes and failures in your work beyond their literal translation?
i.e. I consider simply finishing a project to be a success; failure is when I let others discourage me from doing something I truly enjoy to do.
There is a passage that says: "Failure has a function. It asks you whether you want to go on making things." A brilliant idea that can help define just how we view failures. But more importantly, Liz procures this question...
What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?"
What IS the thing you love doing so much? Why doesn't it matter to you whether you technically fail or succeed? What about it keeps you going with it? And furthermore, how do you define your own successes and failures in your work beyond their literal translation?
i.e. I consider simply finishing a project to be a success; failure is when I let others discourage me from doing something I truly enjoy to do.