1 Sign You're Creating Work That Matters

On this episode, I’d like to thank the squirrels outside my window for reminding me of a little old gent who built a shanty and pissed off the government back in the 1800s.

Yes, I’m talking about Henry David Thoreau who spent his days sitting in his little cabin in the woods on Walden Pond. And yes, that guy seriously loved squirrels. I precisely remember reading his book Walden ( which is a fantastic read by the way that you should check out) and for two whole pages the dude talks about squirrels scampering across the snow.

Ridiculous? Perhaps. But you can also look at it from another point of view. Thoreau focused on the minutia and the beauty of the small things in front of us. And that my friends is what I’d like to talk about.

Let’s talk about the 1 sign you’re creating work that matters...

After attending Harvard in the 1800s, Thoreau did the exact opposite of what one was supposed to do. While other educated men followed the well-trodden path of medical school or law studies, Thoreau grabbed a hammer, some nails, a few blocks of wood, and went to write in the woods just 19 miles outside of Boston.

Did his work save lives? Plenty. Did his work shape law? Big time.

 

All criticism aside, Thoreau went on to pen two key books that continue to inspire many today to practice the art of awareness, to look at the meandering veins on a fallen leaf, and to consider that our life’s work is to develop something that transcends the physical.

Just as soon as his work began to inspire many, it was just as soon followed with criticism: the #1 helpful sign that you're walking your own path and creating work that matters.

What do the critics say?

Some call Thoreau a phony since he didn’t really live off the land and would often walk two miles to his parents’ home for a hot meal… he’d often frequent the local pub for a cold brew… and many say he wasn’t as hardcore as John Muir (the other famous nature-lover that inspired Teddy Roosevelt to create the U.S. National Park system... And the list goes on.

So, here’s a serious question. Why do we  criticize people? Modern psychology would say that criticism is often reflected in one’s own frustration and insecurity to walk their own path. Makes sense since carving your own path is a heck of a lot harder than walking the well-trodden trail.

Criticism can be a helpful sign, however. Contemporary business strategist, Dorie Clark, framed it like this when we sat down for a chat. She said, “criticism helps us know when we’re on to something worth working for.”

Ah, there’s the rub.

Criticism, however, can cut way deeper than a stick or stone or the thorns that cover the road less traveled by.

Criticism sucks, plain and simple.

It can even stop us dead in our tracks of creating work that matters.

The thing is, when we conform to what others consider normal to avoid criticism, we stray away from what inspires us. We veer away from the greatest version of ourselves. Like Abraham Maslow said, we all have a unique genius to offer the world — art that the world needs, as Seth Godin often puts it — and committing to our inspiration will lead to being criticized. The only way to escape criticism is to do nothing and say nothing like the old saying goes.

The truth is, the world needs your work:

-- That memoir you’ve written, but haven’t pitched to an editor for fear of being criticized for being too real and too vulnerable, needs to be read by those who will relate to your story and will no longer feel alone.

-- That newsletter you’ve been writing on your own, but haven’t shared with the world, needs to be read by the young yogis who want to build a bridge between body and spirit.

-- That start-up you’ve been longing to build? Yes, the world needs that too.

But, how do you start?  

Footstep by footstep.