Human beings have a number of quirks, and among one of the more predominate ones is the tendency to be your own worst critic. Artists are no exception to this malady, and we are often found criticizing the very work we put so much effort into creating. What we have to remember is, life is a journey, and learning is a process. It takes time to develop skill as an artist, and we should not condemn our work as terrible just because it didn’t meet our expectations. We must learn to be content with where we are, even as dissatisfaction drives us to improve.
Condemning my artwork has never led me to improve. It does just the opposite. It discourages me from ever trying again and creates anxiety, showing that attitude to be less than useless. Contentment, on the other hand, allows me to objectively view my work, enjoy the good in it, and see how much I have learned and improved. Most of my art is not even close to bad, but what happens when I really do mess up? I get to enjoy the process and satisfaction of learning. Then I take what I have learned, try again, and enjoy the excitement of seeing improvement. Sometimes, after I make a huge mistake, I’ll keep going, create something comically bad, and have a good laugh. I am content with this day and my completed work.
Of course, contentment does not prevent me from wanting to learn, improve, and grow, and this is where dissatisfaction is beneficial. I am a decent artist, but I want to become a great artist. I am not satisfied with my skill level or experience. I want to learn more, practice more, and create more. I want to create different types of art and tackle more complex projects. I am not satisfied with my current work.
Far from causing problems, contentment and dissatisfaction work well together. Contentment allows dissatisfaction to be exciting and fun. “If I have improved this much already, how much more will I improve in the future?” The only way to find out is to do another project. Dissatisfaction allows me to keep moving forward instead of becoming mired in the frustratingly mundane. It allows me to always have something new to be content about.
And so, I will continue to practice the art of being content but not satisfied.