Turning Criticism into Growth: How to Handle Feedback and Nurture Your Inner Artist
As an aspiring musician, especially in the realm of medicine music, it can feel like walking a tightrope between vulnerability and exposure. The act of sharing your music—often a deeply personal and spiritual experience—opens you up to a wide range of feedback. Some of it is glowing praise, while other times, you’re met with unsolicited advice or even criticism. Both extremes can be challenging to navigate, especially when you're still building confidence in your musical journey.
Having gone through this myself after many ceremonies, I’ve learned that this dynamic comes with the territory of being a musician. Regularly, people approach me after a ceremony to comment on my music. These comments tend to go one of two ways:
Praise: “You’re the most fantastic musician I’ve ever heard! You took me on a journey like no one else.”
Advice/Criticism: “That was great, but you know, maybe you could try doing it this way,” or “Have you ever thought about adding more of this or less of that?”
While praise feels validating and uplifting (who doesn’t love being put on a pedestal?), advice or criticism—especially when unsolicited—can sting, particularly if it comes from someone who doesn’t even play an instrument themselves.
Both forms of feedback, whether flattering or challenging, are part of the journey. But there’s a deeper lesson in how we respond, especially when our ego is involved.
The Vulnerability of Feedback: Why It Hurts
It’s important to acknowledge that receiving feedback, especially as a musician, can be incredibly vulnerable. Music isn’t just a skill we perform; it’s an expression of our soul. When someone praises you, it can feel like a high—a validation of the energy, time, and emotion you pour into your music. But when someone criticizes or offers advice, especially when you’re not feeling confident, it can trigger deep insecurities.
You might start questioning yourself:
“Am I actually good at this?”
“Why didn’t I see that flaw myself?”
“Will people ever see me as a real musician?”
If you’re still in the process of building your confidence, this feedback can feel like a direct hit to your self-worth. However, it’s also a golden opportunity for growth—both as a musician and as a person.
THE ALCHEMY OF MUSIC
The greatest gift of feedback is its potential to alchemize insecurity into confidence and clarity.
Praise and Pedestals: Why the Ego Loves It (and Why It’s Dangerous)
When people put you on a pedestal, it can feel amazing. It validates all your hard work and creativity, and you feel seen and appreciated. However, the danger of the pedestal is that it can inflate your ego, leaving you reliant on external validation for your self-worth. The moment you’re no longer receiving that kind of praise, your sense of value might crumble.
The truth is, no musician—no matter how talented—can stay on that pedestal forever. If your self-esteem becomes dependent on the opinions of others, you’re at risk of losing touch with your authentic voice. The real challenge is to take praise with grace, without letting it define you. Yes, it’s a compliment, but your worth as a musician must come from within, not from external approval.
Criticism: A Training Ground for Your Ego
Criticism, on the other hand, often hits where it hurts the most—your insecurities. It’s normal for musicians to be sensitive to feedback, especially if we’re still finding our confidence. The ego doesn’t like to be told that we could do better, and it’s easy to feel defensive or disheartened.
But here’s the thing: criticism can be a powerful training ground for your ego.
Rather than allowing it to tear you down, this is an opportunity to build resilience. When you hear feedback that stings, it doesn’t mean you’re not a good musician—it simply means there’s room to grow. The process of absorbing feedback while staying grounded is a lesson in humility and self-confidence.
THE ALCHEMY OF MUSIC
Nurture your inner artist’s child by treating feedback as a tool for growth, not a threat to your self-worth.
Nurturing the Inner Artist's Child: Reaffirming Your Self-Worth
Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, talks about the concept of the "artist’s child"—the part of us that is sensitive, creative, and in need of reassurance. When we receive criticism, this inner child can feel threatened or insecure. That’s why it’s so important to nurture this part of ourselves with kindness and compassion.
Think of it like this: when a child is learning to walk, they fall down a lot. As adults, we don’t criticize them for falling; we encourage them to get back up and try again. We need to do the same with ourselves as musicians. When criticism comes, we can use it as a moment to reaffirm our worth, to give ourselves the encouragement we need to keep growing, and to remind ourselves that our journey is a process.
By treating our inner artist’s child with the same care and patience, we build the resilience to not only handle feedback but to use it as fuel for improvement.
THE ALCHEMY OF MUSIC
True mastery in music comes not from avoiding criticism, but from using it to create a more authentic transmission.
Putting Feedback in Context: Training for Spiritual Growth
As musicians, particularly in medicine music, we’re not just creating sound; we’re transmitting energy, emotions, and opening room for self-healing through our music. This means our personal growth is intimately tied to our musical development. Receiving feedback, especially critical feedback, can feel like a personal attack—but it’s really an invitation to refine our craft and cleanse any lingering ego attachments.
These small ego deaths—when someone points out something that could have been better—are challenging, but they are also opportunities for alchemy. They allow us to strip away anything in our music that no longer serves the pure transmission of energy we are trying to deliver.
By learning to receive feedback gracefully, we not only become better musicians but also evolve spiritually. We become more in tune with ourselves, our purpose, and the music that moves through us. The more we can let go of ego-driven attachments, the more our music becomes a clean transmission—an unfiltered channel for the universe’s energy.
Building Resilience: The Gift of Ego Death
Although receiving unsolicited advice or criticism can feel like a setback, it’s actually one of the greatest gifts you can receive as a musician. These moments force you to confront your insecurities and build resilience. Each time you handle feedback with grace, you grow stronger, both as a person and an artist.
By allowing these small ego deaths to refine you, you gain the freedom to play from a place of authenticity and spiritual connection, rather than from a place of fear or insecurity. And that’s where the real magic happens in music.
5 Tips for Handling Feedback
Pause before reacting. When you receive feedback—whether positive or critical—take a moment to breathe and process it before responding. This allows you to approach the situation with a clear head and an open heart.
Separate the feedback from your self-worth. Remember, feedback is about your music, not about you as a person. Your value doesn’t diminish because of one piece of criticism.
Use feedback as a learning tool. Even when it’s hard to hear, ask yourself, “Is there truth in this?” If so, use it as an opportunity for growth. If not, let it go.
Nurture your inner artist’s child. When feedback feels overwhelming, take time to reaffirm yourself. Remind yourself of your progress, your journey, and the value of your unique voice.
See criticism as spiritual training. In medicine music, criticism is more than just feedback—it’s an opportunity for spiritual refinement. Each challenge helps you release ego attachments and become a clearer vessel for your music.
Conclusion: The Gift of Feedback in the Musician’s Journey
Dealing with feedback, whether it’s glowing praise, unsolicited advice or even criticism, is an inevitable part of being a musician. While our ego may prefer the pedestal, true growth happens when we learn to embrace the full spectrum of feedback. It’s through these small ego deaths that we build resilience, nurture our inner artist’s child, and refine our music into a clearer, more authentic transmission.
Though it’s never easy, this process is a gift—one that shapes us into not just better musicians, but more grounded, spiritually aligned human beings. So the next time someone offers unsolicited advice or constructive criticism, remember: it’s all part of the journey, and the music you’re meant to create is waiting on the other side of that discomfort.