Who told you that you were so special? What made you think that you wouldn’t have to work like the rest of us? Where do you get off thinking that what you create is worth anything? How dare you think your photography … music … paintings … stories are good enough to pay for?
You take these questions to heart and fall into a nine to five. Every morning you slip on a suit, or pin on a name tag, or put on your biggest fakest smile. You’re busy with work and family. Soon you’re too busy to create at all. Your paints … camera … guitar sits in the corner of the room untouched. The stories that once swirled in your head have long since disappeared.
The art inside of you has drained out and you find yourself living someone else’s life. You are no longer special because you’ve decided to ignore the very thing that makes you YOU. Your art is worth nothing because it was never created.
The beginning of this post is a bummer, isn’t it? It has been true though for many, including me. In the past I took jobs that didn’t really interest me instead of focusing on the creativity that came so naturally.
Applying for jobs is a habit that I’ve actually found hard to kick. Just today I passed a now-hiring sign for Bed Bath and Beyond and thought that maybe I should apply. I didn’t though, because I don’t really want the job and I realized that my path in this life is taking me to a new exciting place that doesn’t involve selling people towels. Not that there’s anything wrong with selling towels. It’s just not for me.
You aren’t doing anyone any favors by living an inauthentic life. Living your fullest most complete life is how you can help to make this world a better place. Where does that start? It starts by developing the talents and passions that were formed inside of you when you were young. It starts by making your creativity a priority. It starts by valuing yourself.