Steven Spielberg has said that what gave him the courage to trust his creativity was a statement from his mentor Sid Sheinberg, at the time the head of Universal Studios.
He told the 20-year-old Spielberg, "I will support you as strongly in failure as I will in success." He stayed true to his word.
It's great if you can find someone like that to support you, but when I read that quote it occurred to me that it's also something we need to say to ourselves.
There have been times when I've been very down on myself because a project didn't work out or because I didn't follow through with something I should have done.
But, as the Stoics pointed out, it's ridiculous to expect humans--including ourselves--not to be fallible. It's how we're built. That's not an excuse for not trying, but it is a good reminder that failing comes with the territory.
And if we wouldn't beat up somebody else for failing, maybe we shouldn't beat up ourselves, either.
