ira glass on having good taste, overcoming the gap between your own good taste and your own not so good output, and doing lots and lots of work. five minutes and nineteen seconds of smart advice. [found via the x degree]
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Well, that was wonderful. The idea that almost everyone gets better by creating or writing or reporting is quite simply true. Of course, a rare few seem to jump out of nowhere into "making" and do a great job. But they prepared themselves in other ways, perhaps by getting a solid liberal arts education. Still, most of us improve by focusing on a particular thing we do and doing a lot of it.
Glass' idea of our taste being fully formed long before our ability to satisfy it matures is useful. But I would add that you need to be of two minds. You need to be able to step back and take a critical look and identify those sources of weakness in your work, particularly when that weakness can be traced to not working hard enough. But it's also true that sometimes you can be too hard on yourself. Don't judge yourself so harshly that you become immobilized, so that you do not try again. Let your taste give credit where credit is due; make note of those things you do well and take pride. One never attains perfection. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
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