You’re a Terrible Judge of Your Own Work

Last week I wrote about creative judgement and how to critique other people’s creative work. It’s something we can all get better at. But what about when you’re judging your own creative work? My experience is that most of us are really bad at it.

Examples of Misplaced Self Judgement

Whenever I listen to creatives who are asked the question, ‘ what was the best book you wrote’ or ‘ what was the best film you appeared in’, often they choose the one that has limited commercial success. They don’t choose usually choose the one the public loves best. This often surprises me.

Ryan Holiday has written many books, particularly on the subject of Stoicism. I’m a big fan. Several have become bestsellers such ‘The Obstacle is the Way’ or ‘Stillness is the Key. I was listening to a podcast recently and he was asked what he thought was the best book he ever wrote. His choice was one of his earlier, less successful books.

I also remember an article about Tom Hanks. He was asked what were his personal favourite films of the ones he appeared in. He chose ‘Cloud Atlas’ and ‘A League of the Own’. Not one of his mega-hits, such as ‘Philadelphia’ or ‘Forrest Gump’. (Or even ‘Big’.)

I hear lots of anecdotes that support this.

‘I thought people would love this, but they didn’t’. ‘I felt at the time this was my best work, but it wasn’t very popular’

The Unexpected Hit

We can also think of examples where creators have become successful, out of the blue. Videos that have gone viral. Songs that have become THE hit of the Summer. Triumphs that seem to come from nowhere.

In her wonderful autobiography ‘Bedsit Disco Queen’, Tracey Thorn wrote about going through a period of commercial anonymity. Then the release of the Todd Terry remix of ‘Missing’ catapulted her back into the limelight. It was completely out of the blue.

Adam Grant is a famous workplace psychologist. Last year he wrote a piece for the New York Times around what he called languishing. The article took off. It was shared millions of times. It really struck a chord. Now I’m sure Adam got it his best shot, but even he was taken aback by the impact it had.

Why is Our Self Judgement So Unreliable?

I think there are 2 key reasons why we can’t predict the impact of our work.

Firstly, there’s no magic formula for creative or commercial success. What worked last time, may not work next time. It’s hardly ever guaranteed. Timing and serendipity all play their part. I remember Elizabeth Gilbert’s Ted Talk, back in 2009. She said that ‘Eat, Pray Love’ written in 2006, could become the most successful work she’ll ever produce. So far, her prediction has proved to be correct. Despite publishing several books since.

Secondly, the criteria for success for a creator may be different to those who consume it. What’s important to you, may not be as important to others. You may be working on a subject or theme that feels incredibly important to you in the moment. But it may not chime so much with others. You may enjoy producing something for selfish reasons. For example, you got to meet some great people or go to a cool place. This may be as relevant to the people who consume your work.

Originally published at https://francolondon.me on February 18, 2022.