Does the Fear of Creating Ever Go Away?

David Senra reads Rick Rubin's claim that the desire to create must be greater than the fear of it, and even for some of the greatest artists the fear never goes away. You can doubt your way to excellence when the doubt aims at the work rather than at the person doing it.

One legendary singer performed for over five decades and was never able to eliminate his stage fright. Terror strong enough to make him sick to his stomach still ended with him stepping into the spotlight each night for a spellbinding show. Accepting self-doubt, rather than trying to eliminate or repress it, lessens its energy and interference. Doubting the work sounds like not knowing whether a song is as good as it can be. Doubting yourself sounds like deciding you cannot write a good song. The two are worlds apart, both in accuracy and in the impact on the nervous system.

Doubting yourself can lead to hopelessness and a sense of not being inherently fit for the task. Rubin allows that doubting the quality of the work might at times help improve it. The outright point is that doubt pointed at the work is a route to excellence.