The Long View

The creative world of course is subjective, so it requires thick skin.  Some of your ideas will get rejected for all sorts of reasons and you can't be hurt by that because you'd never get anything done.  That's not news, but what I didn't realize is that there's another angle to this subjectivity where people may fire you because they think there's something better out there, only to hire someone else and find out there wasn't.  Now having gained some perspective, those people might rethink their decision and call you back.  

So after being fired you can have your feelings hurt because your artistic sensibilities have been insulted (HA!), or you can recognize that creative work is subjective and sometimes requires this kind of perspective, and you need to have some emotional awareness of it.

That second choice sounds nice and enlightened, but I'm not so sure that's the answer.  The thick skin part of creative output is accepting that some of your ideas (that you might really like) will get rejected.  It's not about being okay with getting fired.  That's really the fatal blow, I think, and I'm not sure a person should be that thick skinned.  I'm also not sure how often a company that fired you would call you back, but I suppose it could be part of their learning process.  

Nonetheless, everything I wrote up there is why creative types like to use a lot of pomp and circumstance to make the work seem more elaborate than it actually is.  It is possible to show up with a point-and-shoot and take an excellent photo in one click, but that actually isn't as helpful as it sounds.  All the bells and whistles actually help make the process - something that comes from the ether - visible.  And it doesn't matter how thick your skin is, you've got to make an effort to contain the subjectivity of it all.