Any meaningful creative project you embark on will eventually hurt you. In order to make great things, you have to let yourself be exposed to the hurt and develop the ability to negotiate the discomfort that will be thrown your way.

While being able to make something from nothing is rewarding, the most valuable aspect of the creative progress is the self-reflection that making interesting things forces us to do. The questions we ask ourselves during the creative process are almost existential in nature: what am I here to do, exactly? What unique perspective can I offer others? What is it that I am good at? In what ways am I limited? The process of making art is therefore not just one of technical or creative progression, it is a path towards personal development.

Our projects are actually similar to our personal relationships in many ways. In order to transcend what is tangible in these spheres we must allow ourselves to be vulnerable, and only when we grant ourselves this permission do we open doors to truly meaningful relationships or great creative outcomes.

We have to let ourselves say 'I made this thing with my heart, hands and mind, and I'd like to know what you think of it.'

We have to let ourselves say 'you are an important part of my life and I'm grateful that you shared these experiences with me.'

These statements are entirely predicated on vulnerability. It's more comfortable for us to leave them unsaid because what we do not say cannot expose us. But by not putting down these defences, we chose to limit ourselves to only the ordinary things life has to offer rather than aspiring to the extraordinary parts of the human experience.

Give yourself the permission to hurt. Let yourself be frustrated, incompetent, embarrassed, confused, rejected or powerless. Do this knowing that these feelings are not forever and that only by accepting them can you fully understand the most amazing things that life has to offer you.