Enjoy the creative process
I’ve been creating content on and off for about seven years now (and that’s if I don’t count the sketchy photoshoots I used to do at random locations whenever I wanted to spice up my Facebook feed or impress my friends). I say “create content” to denote that this content was created with the intention to be consumed by others. To be enjoyed, engaged with and experienced by an audience - just like one would a piece of art or their favourite comfort meal.
For years, I’ve shared my content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, I even started and tried growing a personal blog, I may or may not have had a Tumblr page in the mix and I’ve been creating and sharing videos on YouTube, which for the most part, was inconsistent before I found my rhythm and niche. I mention all of this to show you that I have BEEN AT IT. This content creation thing is not new to me.
The earlier years of my creative process were marked by the desire to get followers, likes, a higher subscriber count and to be honest, I secretly hoped that I would go viral before I even knew what virality was. At that time, I was more concerned about the outcome of my creative process and the external validation it would give me instead of the process of creating itself. I was certain that for all my efforts and commitment to creative expression, there had to be a reward waiting for me somewhere.
A reward to say, “Well done”, “This is groundbreaking”, “We’ve never seen anything like this.” In essence, I was creating for others and not creating for myself. As you can imagine, my frustration grew when I was putting in the work and the numbers weren’t coming. The realization that my efforts were not yielding the results that I wanted would send me into a creative slump and I would periodically leave one creative pursuit to start another in the hopes that that the next one would change the game for me.
It wasn’t until I had a shift in perspective almost three years ago that my approach to my process of creating/creativity changed. I went from looking outward to find motivation to create, to looking inward to find the joy and fun in the creative process. Focusing on the likes and subscribers or whatever became unproductive to my process. It stifled my creativity, compromised my authenticity and it sucked the fun out of creating.
It was only when I began to honour my creative expression and started saying ‘yes’ to moments of inspiration without thinking about the outcome that creating content became enjoyable and fun. Enjoying the process of creating has made me appreciate the qualities and skills that I’ve gained and refined during this process. I became more free, more resourceful, more imaginative and essentially…more creative. This detachment to the outcome of my creative process inspired a childlike wonder in me. And this is what I was missing when I was so attached to the outcome. I was missing how this process was changing me and how I was becoming in the process of creating.
I write this to say that if you’re a creative, starting a business or trying to bring your idea to life, detach yourself from the outcome and start enjoying the process. The real fun and growth is in the process, the outcome is a consequence that you actually don’t have control over and so focusing on that is not really useful. As they say, it’s about the journey and not the destination. Have fun!
