Why You Suck, and I am Great

People love dichotomies. No really, they do. So here's one to wrap your head around:

For this, let's divide people into two categories.

There has been a video circulating the net by Derek Sivers describing the first part. The idea is that when you attempt to create something that when you've penned a story or taken a photo or drawn a picture that afterward you take a look at it and say to yourself "well, it's not very good." Sivers postulates that you might think that because you are naturally going to view your own ideas as obvious and you're more likely to see the flaws in them.

But this is no new idea. It has echoes from other points of view. Some people call it the Dunning–Kruger effect. It has been mentioned in the philosophy of Socrates, the research of Joyce Ehrlinger, and was even commented on in the popular anime series Fruits Basket.

So all too often people might feel like they aren't clever because they think the things they build or cook or that the art they make is perfectly ordinary. They are better at spotting their flaws than their successes, and so they don't feel that what they have is special. That their offerings are small, weak, or just plain.

But what of the other side of that coin?

Have you ever noticed how some people are so absolutely confident? That they really believe everything they do is artistic, beautiful and great? I know people like this, and I'm sure you do as well. I've known artists whose work hasn't improved since the fourth grade. I've known construction workers that build houses that fall down in less than three years. I've known cooks whose food I'd feel iffy about giving it to the homeless. Yet in these people's perspective, they are so confident they are fantastic that sometimes they even convince other people that they are great.

It's more like this: Just like the guy that goes to a club and hits on every single girl in there, if you do something one or two hundred times you're likely to at least get a couple of successes. Well what if these individuals have trained themselves to simply react with confidence, ignore their own failures (as well as everyone else's advice) and when they do have a success then they just let it reinforce what they already believe.

Fortunately, the cure for both of these problems is the same. Get your work out there. Share it. But then, also share the feedback. Look at what other people have to offer, and give truthful opinions. But also listen when honest opinions are given to you. When this kind of sharing occurs it makes our own work better, but it also helps others to improve. If anything, that's part of the real glory of the Deviant Art site and community. If this kind of attitude could be extended in other areas of life, just think of the potential for everything that everyone builds and creates.