Ted Pollock

The more original an idea, the more open it is to criticism. There's a good reason for that. A fresh idea challenges the status quo and people tend to resist change. Fear of this resistance-as it manifests itself in criticism-may be preventing you from realizing your true potential as a creative individual.

You're not unusual if you feel criticism is directed toward you personally when the only thing really being criticized is your idea.

You can overcome this reaction to criticism by learning to evaluate criticism for both content and intent. It's a good idea, for instance, when evaluating criticism, to remember that your associates are also subject to a number of pressures. Criticism is seldom 100 percent objective.

But don't be too quick to anticipate criticism. Creativity can suffer if you cannot suspend critical judgment for a reasonable length of time.

Nothing hampers the creative process so much as critical judgment applied to an idea too soon. This doesn't mean that criticism has no place in the production of ideas. But premature weighing of "bits and pieces" of an idea should be avoided. The longer you can linger with an idea, the better chance it has of being fully exploited.

There is a second area to check: Do you feel embarrassed if your idea is rejected publicly?

Fear of visible failure hampers creativity. It's not unusual for an individual to present a new idea, have it fail, then never again try something new. Fear of adverse criticism narrows creative potential.

On the other hand, a truly creative person thoroughly examines the failure to identify what went wrong and why. He turns failure into a learning experience.

The greatest failure of all, of course, is not to attempt a new idea.

These two fears-fear of criticism and fear of failure-combine to throw still another barrier across the road to creativity. This block is anxiety about self-esteem.

None of us wants to make a fool of himself. But some people have a tremendous anxiety over self-esteem. They won't attempt anything that might threaten their self-image.

Recognizing this dread and putting it in its proper perspective will help you reduce its damaging effect on your creative efforts.

A lot of people laughed at the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. But they were more concerned with ideas than with ego.

Don't worry about the immediate consequences of presenting a new or radical idea. Don't modify a plan or idea just to avoid possible loss of prestige and, above all, don't worry about "losing face" should your plan or idea be rejected.

As soon as one of your ideas works, you'll be surprised how quickly you'll forget the failures.