Why Create?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I would love to create something and share it with the world”?

Maybe it was music that inspired you to write songs. Maybe it was YouTube that inspired you to make videos. Maybe it was a picture that inspired you to be an artist. Or maybe it was a completely original idea that you secretly wrestled with its plausibility. Regardless of what it was, odds are that you never took action and thus left your imagination to decompose. Why is that, though? Isn’t that so sad? I mean, imagine a world in which people embraced their creative inspirations and made them happen. How much more visual, audible, and literary beauty we would be surrounded by. 

I’ve known several artists who have struggled with the hesitation that comes with releasing art into the world. I don’t think it takes too much soul-searching to realize where the dilemma lies—people are afraid of being judged. Seriously, I wish that I could assure you that nobody is going to criticize you mentally or verbally for the art that you share, but that’s disappointingly not the case. Even for me, writing this first blog post and publishing it along with personally-curated playlists on a website has taken significant courage. I’ve faced thoughts of, “who am I to try and be official on the internet?”, “what if people disagree with me and it turns out that my statements are incorrect?”, and “what if I put in all this effort and nobody cares?”

There is the temptation, I’ve felt, to combat these fears with success. In that, there will be cynical people but that I’ll prove them wrong by having success in the form of high followers and praise from them. The issue with this mindset is that it leaves you in a fragile state, perpetually relying on the favor of fickle people to give your art meaning. 

When I first heard the song Doin This by Luke Combs, I was initially underwhelmed to say the least and really felt like the main line of “If I wasn’t doin this, I’d be doin this” could’ve used some work. But one night my brother played it in the car and the gold of this song just struck me. The heart of Doin This is that we should create for the simple love of it. And if that is your true heart and relationship to the art, then attention from others is simply a byproduct rather than a determining factor. 

I believe it’s really important to keep this in mind throughout one’s entire life and/or career. Committing yourself to the art rather than people’s opinions isn’t just something to get you through the uncertainty of early endeavors and then to be forgotten when you become that “one in a million” acclaimed artist. Really, I don’t know for certain if Luke Combs would actually remain committed to the art of music whether he was “at the Grand ol Opry or at a show in some no name town”, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and embrace the truth within the lyrics. 

Imagine it: no fear of judgement and the freedom to create whatever it is that you want to create. It’s possible. Reject that fear and show some love to your natural creativity. It’s also important to remember that your value doesn’t come from your creations. People will always misjudge your value and blend it with the value of your art, but whether they are praising you or criticizing you, you must see through it. 

P.S. To listen to Doin This along with other impactful country music, like and stream my If feeling country  playlist on Spotify. 

P.P.S. Listen to the For The Love of Music episode from The Line Check Podcast that dives deeper on this subject. Seriously, it’s my favorite episode from the show.