Feedback Thoughts: Why I Suck and Why That Kind of Thinking is Wrong

Hello Vagabuddies,

Deep Talk Daniel (TM) here. Time to get deep and talk about feedback, taking risks, and rejection.
The first article I read for this week was the article about Neil Gaiman's Make Good Art commencement address. I had read a few stories and books by Neil Gaiman, and seen his Doctor Who episodes, so I was excited to hear his advice to recent graduates. And I was not disappointed! I especially connected with his imagery of imagining your personal goal as a mountain in the distance. Everything you do should bring you closer to that mountain, and if it doesn't then it probably isn't for you. I am definitely someone who has a lot of different interests and I can get carried away with them all. This mountain metaphor seems like a great way to keep myself accountable. In addition to the mountain, Neil Gaiman also gave this piece of advice to creatives: Make Good Art. As more of a STEM major, I don't relate as much to the 'art' part of his quote but his message is clear: do something that you are proud of. If it fails or isn't profitable, then at least you have something you're happy with. If you make something just for the money, and then it fails, you're left with nothing. To me, this means that I should pursue research projects that I am fascinated by, instead of only chasing patents or grants.  Neil Gaiman also heavily emphasized the importance of making mistakes and learning from them. Making mistakes means that we are taking risks, trying something new, and pushing yourself. Ultimately, "the world (will be) more interesting for your being here."

Graphic of THE line from Gaiman's speech : RedBubble

Moving onward from Gaiman's talk about mistakes, I read Guy Winch's article about Why Rejection Hurts. I think the best part about this article was reading about how you should boost your social connections after experiencing rejection. The article said that even something small like calling your grandparents can be an extremely useful reminder that even just your voice brings joy to some people. I think it is too easy to be overly self-critical (another flaw the article point out) and isolate yourself after a rejection, so reminding yourself about your other social connections seems like a great idea. Even if you're just helping someone through a rejection, I could even see it being useful to take them out to do their favorite activity. Not only are you spending time with someone and reminding them of their other social connections, but you are also letting them do something that they are probably pretty good at, which also boosts their self-esteem. I can definitely utilize this advice moving forward.

To you, dear VagaBuddy, I challenge you to try something new, go out of your comfort zone, and seek discomfort. It is in your "discomfort zone" that you truly grow as a person, and, even if you make mistakes or get rejected, learn from that experience and remind yourself of your strengths.
Vaga-Buon Voyage.