Trying to do something new, ambitious, great, difficult or absurd may be termed as pretentious quite often. To conform is to be normal and not be pretentious. To try to make a song which sounds weird, write a story which doesn't make any sense and stepping on stage seriously may be labelled as pretentious by others. It carries with it a negative connotation, therefore people do not wish to be seen as "pretentious". Lets see, what does being pretentious really mean.

Pretentious - trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature.(Cambridge definition)

We can assume then that this negative word carries with it the heavy dense weight of not letting the bearer of the label "try".

At the center of this phenomenon is the trying function. However one can argue that trying is what makes one be, thinking is what makes someone better at thinking. Pretending to be clever is masking. However trying to be clever than you actually are requires you to actually make the most of what intellect you have and put it to use in such a manner that you seem more clever than you actually are, in the matters of the ambitious trying that you are going to approach.

From the other end of the spectrum of expertise, a specialist may be honoured by others as execute their task with excellence. Their performance garners positivity, and rarely are they termed pretentious. This is because they dont let others have the chance to critique in a manner which shows the flaws in their creation, through sheer performance. Their practice, knowledge and passionate execution ensures that their creation attracts compliments.

No one gets to that level of excellence during their initial tries. It is unrealistic to think that the lack of practicing will yield a prodigious product.

In the middle, there lies the large chunk of population who has broken the ice with themselves, progressed to a decent level and got comfortable with the skill they started. However, they stagnate, as refining the acquired skill takes even greater effort that the initial effort to break through and start trying. Stagnancy may come from a lack of trying within the art or skill that they have already practiced for a significant duration. This stagnancy should be broken by:

1. Taking deep breaths.

2. Remembering why you started.

3. Recognizing what type of monotony, in production and day-to-day life has been affecting you.

4. Trying(the same thing or something new).

It is my argument that individuals must not be shunned by others, and the act of trying should be promoted amongst all facets of life. The act of trying is fun, exciting and noble. The self should not be judging itself while creating, drafting and trying. Our self criticisms during the initial stages should be minimal, so that we can break the lead wall of self doubt and try as we please so that we may all learn to be content with our creation process.