Facing the Fear of Being Misunderstood
‘What does it mean?’
It’s a common question you’ll overhear when discussing art — painting, poetry, movies, songs.
When we receive a creative impulse, it can come through quickly. When it arrives, it doesn’t always make sense in that neat kind of way.
And when we spend time with our ideas, letting them develop through the creative process, meaning can be fluid. We’ll start one place and end up someplace radically different.
Our relationship to what we create will never be the same as the audience who receives it.
Meaning is relative and that’s part of the complex beauty of art.
When you spend your time trying to please everyone, you can get caught in an endless feedback loop. You might find yourself stopping short of sharing what you’ve created, worried your ideas won’t come across easily. Worried people won’t ‘get it’.
You risk stripping out the good stuff that makes your work unique.
Why might this happen?
Fear of being misunderstood.
Fear of being different.
Fear of being noticed.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of seeming stupid.
Take a risk, trust the process, and let your creative vision unfold. Let the meaning be discovered.
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