First drafts. Early videos. There will come a day when you throw up your hands and wonder if anything you make is ever going to not suck. Will anything be any good?
I still feel like most of what I put out could be better. Occasionally I make a video and contemplate whether or not to upload it because I hate it so much. But I’ve learned that it’s all a part of the process. Not everything you make can be gold. But every terrible thing you make will get you one step closer to making something better.
Whenever I make something, I try to learn at least one thing from the process. Just one thing that will make the next thing better. There is always room for improvement. It’s easy to obsess over the fact that what you’ve made is not good, but you’ll be better off if you try to learn from the experience. Analyze why something sucks and how you can do better, rather than focusing on the negative.
I knew I wasn’t the strongest writer when I began creating short films. I knew I needed to put a lot of work in if I was going to get any better. I also began to notice that whenever I directed and acted in something, my acting suffered. I was too focused on directing to fully commit to the character.
I’ve found that sometimes it’s helpful to give yourself permission to suck. It just takes the pressure off. For example, when I was doing improvisation, we used to play a game called Bad Improv. It’s a warm-up exercise where everyone is allowed to break all the rules and be terrible improvisers. You can run into another person’s scene screaming “I’m a fucking ghost!” and you’ll be winning at Bad Improv. The thing is, Bad Improv can be pretty funny. It’s a good reminder that sometimes you can get distracted by the “right” way to do something.
So the next time you cringe at something you’ve created, don’t shut down. First, take a breath. Try to detach yourself from it emotionally. Assess your work analytically. Become aware of your weaknesses and focus on improving them—that’s the only way you’ll get stronger. And the stronger you get, the more resilient you’ll become.