Fear of Failure and Belief in Creation
Found an online article today about Trent Reznor that started out as follows:
The one-man-band that calls himself "Nine Inch Nails" but is really just freaky Trent Reznor has low self-esteem. “Fear has governed my life, if I think about it," he tells Today's New York Times. "I don’t even know why I’m saying this in an interview situation, but I always feel like I’m not good enough for some reason. I wish that wasn’t the case, but left to my own devices, that voice starts speaking up.”
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I was waiting for my cup'a'joe a bit ago and thinking about it. His vulnerability, his fear of being no good comes out in his music. It's that openness about his insecurity that makes his music most appealing. In fact, I think that is something that the artist, the writer captures for other people--how vulnerable we are when facing our fears. The strength to be publicly vulnerable is what, I think, we become most fascinated with in our adoration of other artists.
Why did he say it in an interview situation? So other artists could be reminded.
As ironic as it may seem, our strength is in our vulnerability, in our fear of our own failure. If we ever thought we were good enough, we would not risk pushing the envelope or breaking new ground.
At the same time, we have to also juggle the decision to believe in ourselves enough to step forward, to think we are brilliant from time to time... only if it lasts for a moment. We need that reward to keep us creating, too, even if we are only giving that reward to ourselves.
It is a juggling act of duality. No wonder most artists are a bit schizophrenic!
The one-man-band that calls himself "Nine Inch Nails" but is really just freaky Trent Reznor has low self-esteem. “Fear has governed my life, if I think about it," he tells Today's New York Times. "I don’t even know why I’m saying this in an interview situation, but I always feel like I’m not good enough for some reason. I wish that wasn’t the case, but left to my own devices, that voice starts speaking up.”
-----
I was waiting for my cup'a'joe a bit ago and thinking about it. His vulnerability, his fear of being no good comes out in his music. It's that openness about his insecurity that makes his music most appealing. In fact, I think that is something that the artist, the writer captures for other people--how vulnerable we are when facing our fears. The strength to be publicly vulnerable is what, I think, we become most fascinated with in our adoration of other artists.
Why did he say it in an interview situation? So other artists could be reminded.
As ironic as it may seem, our strength is in our vulnerability, in our fear of our own failure. If we ever thought we were good enough, we would not risk pushing the envelope or breaking new ground.
At the same time, we have to also juggle the decision to believe in ourselves enough to step forward, to think we are brilliant from time to time... only if it lasts for a moment. We need that reward to keep us creating, too, even if we are only giving that reward to ourselves.
It is a juggling act of duality. No wonder most artists are a bit schizophrenic!