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Imperfect work should be shared
I keep finding myself thinking about how and why we share work. Or, more accurately, why we choose not to share the work we produce.
I always feel the obligation to ensure my work is of the utmost, almost unachievable, quality before sharing it. I feel that I have a responsibility to only share that which is well-researched and as correct as possible, as well as well-produced.
Let’s be honest, though: the majority of that I create is not high-quality. The majority of what I create is actually pretty shite. This means I am sitting on roughly 430K words that no one has ever seen. This isn’t including the tens of sketchbooks, notebooks, and other notes I have hanging around.
Despite the voice in my head telling me that no one is interested, “Why would they be?”, it turns out that a surprising number of people do care. Every time I let someone flip through my sketchbook or a silly little zine I’ve made, they tell me they’d like to see more. I was even told by one person that I was “selfish” for keeping my work “hidden away.”
I still think that’s a hilarious thing to say, but it does make me think… Perhaps the work I consider imperfect and poor-in-quality is worth sharing anyway. After all, what is the harm? Someone may call me a fool, sure, but people already call me a fool for not sharing my work. And maybe, even if I share imperfect work, someone might find it joyful or a seed for their own thought or make me think by telling me how wrong I am.
All it takes is a little bravery from me.
Something I frequently hear from those in my life is “No one cares about your opinion.” This is not directed at me in particular, but made as a general statement. What is interesting is that this statement comes with a second, unspoken half. What is actually meant is “No one cares about your opinion, so you shouldn’t share it.”
I find this strange because these two things are not related in my mind. Why would someone else’s potential opinion on my opinion prevent me from sharing it? If no one cares, then what’s the harm? I also think assuming no one cares is weird. Maybe no one does care, but how are you supposed to know that’s the case unless you do share what you make? The worst that can happen is no one cares.
Most of my enjoyment comes from consuming media that other people have created and shared. If they had assumed no one else cared and not shared their work, I’d be fucking bored.