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An explanation of why you should Do Things.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:57:49 -0400

I think oftentimes people are apprehensive about Doing Things.

There exists the majority of people who sit back and observe things, and the minority of people who actually make things. Because these observers are passive bystanders looking from the outside in, they have a tendency to look at things and criticize them haphazardly. They usually say something along the lines of:

“U did a Thing and Thing was not Perfect see here flaw and flaw and u should have done this instead omg u are so lame ew this is so bad stop why”

It’s so easy for people to criticize because very rarely to they put themselves out there to be criticized in return.

You can see this accountability in play here on Youtube especially. People who have no videos of their own on their channel are more likely to comment on someone else’s video and comment “omg u suck ur so ugly this is the worst video of all time go die”.

People who actually make videos themselves and post them publicly are much less likely to go do that because:

1) The person they insulted could simply go to their channel, view their videos, and criticize them in the same way.
2) If you make videos, you understand how difficult it is, how the process works, and the type of effort that goes into it.

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure there will always be an anonymous wave of random people willing to criticize anything and everything at the drop of a hat.

You just have to decide whether or not you care.

Imagine you were in an art critique. All of the students’ work is up on the wall and you’re taking turns talking about them. You’re likely to heed the opinion of a fellow art student. One who has done the same project themselves and whose work is up on display just like yours is, just as vulnerable to criticism. There’s some weight and some reasoning behind their comments.

But imagine that some random hobo wanders in to your class, looks at your work of art, and says “GOSH that is the worst piece of art I have ever seen. EW. It sucks so bad. OMG never make art again you loser.” and then runs away.

Would you heed their opinion just as much? I doubt it.

This idea isn’t new. In fact, there’s a quote from Theodore Roosevelt in which he addresses the same thing:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

-Theodore Roosevelt, “Man in the Arena” Speech given April 23, 1910