And there are those who screw around forever trying to get one string in tune, and it's the wrong string! I hear every little "almost on pitch" note I sing. I don't hear other people miss it (unless it's very noticable) because I just don't listen for it.

To some extent, I really have to trust other people's judgement. If I left it to my own, I might never have started singing. Something made me willing to take the risk of letting others judge. Without risk, there's no progress. Without risk, there are no mistakes.

One of the two best bosses I've had used to talk about 'sins of commission'. Basically, if we tried something and messed it up, we had to fix the mess, but we were often praised for taking the chance in the first place. Worked great, except for one authoritarian control freak we had in the office - I think she thought she was the only one who was supposed to have ideas and the folks who worked for her were just supposed to be quiet and do what she said. She eventually found another job. When I left that office, there was a lot of trust there - not just between us and the boss, but between us all. We had a chance to see just how smart everyone was when they were prodded or simply given a chance to take risks.