Has anyone resented the content of your work recently? If not, what is your excuse? — Kristen Nygaard

Has anyone resented the content of your work recently? If not, what is your excuse?

Author: Kristen Nygaard

Insight: Most of us instinctively recoil from the idea of making people uncomfortable. We want our work to land well, to be appreciated, maybe even liked. So this question hits differently—it's suggesting that if nobody's resented what you've put out there, you might not be doing anything that matters. The tension is real. There's genuine wisdom in listening to feedback, being collaborative, not being needlessly provocative for its own sake. But there's also a kind of safety in always keeping things agreeable. When you're trying to solve real problems or say something true, you're almost guaranteed to bump against someone's existing way of thinking. A teacher challenges students. A designer makes choices that frustrate some users. A writer takes a stance. Friction isn't always a sign you're wrong—sometimes it's evidence you're actually engaged with something substantive. The uncomfortable part is that resentment isn't the goal. But if you're doing work that's merely pleasant and uncontroversial, it might be worth asking what you're leaving unsaid. The question isn't "how do I upset people?" It's "am I being honest about what needs to change?"