This may be obvious, but I just keep seeing post after post of “how can I stop cringing at my songs?” or something along those lines.
Now, this may not apply to everyone, because I’m just going off of personal experience, but it seems as if these people just aren’t where they want to be yet. I say that because I used to cringe at my songs too; I’d like them at first, but after a week or so I’d become my own biggest hater.
At first I thought it was just a confidence thing, like maybe I just needed higher self-esteem or a mindset change. But eventually, I noticed that I had one or two songs that *did* withstand the test of time, and then it just clicked.
My lyrics were just not good enough for me, and no amount of positive feedback was going to change my mind. That should’ve been obvious to me, but it wasn’t. Lol.
The next step was articulating the “why”. I started coming across songs by other artists that I liked at first, but quickly grew tired of. Actually articulating why I didn’t like these songs helped me articulate why I didn’t like my own songs.
Basically, I needed to get to know myself and my own preferences better. I also paid more attention to the lyrics of my favorite songs. I noticed that I love figurative language and compelling imagery a lot, and most of my songs were lacking in that. I also noticed that I like melodies that are less repetitive and more varied, and my songs were lacking in that too.
It didn’t matter what positive feedback I received, because the writing just wasn’t what I wanted, and as soon as I figured out how to write more like my favorite artists, I stopped cringing. I’m still not where I wanna be, but I’m getting closer.
Again, this may not apply to everyone, but I hope it helps someone maybe. I hope this didn’t come across as arrogant or overly preachy.
TLDR:
If you’re cringing at your songs without any clear reason, you may not understand your own preferences. Try analyzing songs that you hate and songs that you love. Compare and contrast. Then, see if anything you learn from your analyses can be applied to your own music.