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In a village lived a sculptor, who used to make very beautiful sculptures and used to earn a good living from this work. After some time, he had a son who began to make sculptures at an early age, and his idols were also very beautiful. The father was happy with his son's success, but he would point out some shortcomings in each of the idols of the son. He would tell the son, "you've done well, but try to overcome this flaw next time."
The son also did not complain. He continued to improve his idols following his father's advice. As a result, the son's idols became better than those of the father, and a time came that people began buying the son's idols at higher prices, while the father's idols continued to be sold at the same price as before.
The father continued to point out the shortcomings in his son's idols, but the son was not happy about it anymore. So, he used to accept those shortcomings without applying mind, but still improved his idols according to father's suggestions.
Eventually, the son's patience wore thin when his father pointed out the shortcomings. The son said, "If you were such a great sculptor, your idols would not sell at a low price. I don't think I need your advice anymore. My idols are perfect."
After the father heard this, he stopped advising his son. For a few months, the boy was happy, but then he noticed that his idols were no longer appreciated as much as they once were, and that the price of his idols also stopped increasing.
He couldn't understand anything at first, but then he went to his father and asked him to help him. The father listened to the son very calmly, as if he was already aware such a day would come. The son also noticed this and asked, "Did you know that this was going to happen?"
The father replied, "Yes, I too once faced a similar situation." The son asked, "why didn't you tell me then?"
The father replied, "That's because you didn't want to understand. I know that I don't make idols as good as you do. It's possible that my advice about idols is wrong, and it's not like your idols became better because of my advice. But when I showed you the flaws in your idols, you were not satisfied with what you had made. You then tried to improve yourself, and that effort is what made your idols better and resulted in your success. The moment you got satisfied with your work and accepted that there is no opportunity for improvement, your growth stopped. People always expect more from you, and this is why now you neither receive much appreciation for your work nor do you get much money for it."
The son remained silent for a while, then he asked, "So what should I do now?"
In response to the son's question, the father gave a short but invaluable reply, "Learn to be unsatisfied, believe that there is always room to improve and become better. This one thing will always inspire you to make progress in the future and will always make you better."
The illusion of perfection, the idea that it's possible not to make any mistakes, is a myth. Authentic performances come from listening equally to both, suggestions and criticism. This is the only way to progress.
Take criticism seriously, without anger or sadness. Use it for correcting yourself, and welcome it.
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