i keep seeing all these posts that are like “i made this but it didn’t get notes… i’m never doing x again…” or “i did all the steps my idol did and i put in my 10 thousand hours, and i still suck at x. i give up.”
i don’t mean for this to come across as rude but as genuine; some people need to learn that not all the stuff you create is going to be any good. and that’s fine.
some things will be, but not everything you do is going to be wonderful and amazing! and this will hurt, but not even everything you pour your heart and soul into is going to look like spun gold to other people. sometimes, you’re going to put everything you have into something and it’s just not going to be that good. this isn’t a personal failing or a character flaw, this certainly isn’t a sign that you should never do anything ever again. maybe you keep at it and get better, and maybe you don’t. that’s a reality. it’s harsh and it sucks and it’s discouraging, but it’s possible try your hand at something and persist and still never really be all that great at it.
and again—that’s okay! that’s fine! i spent all of my time off 2020 trying my hand at pyrography, i had months of downtime, and hours of practice, and i’m still not great! but i’m enjoying the act of it, i’m getting a satisfaction out of creating, even if it’s not ‘worth’ anything, even if it’s not good in the eyes of others, but this is enough. sometimes this just has to be enough. you aren’t midas and you don’t want to be.
i’m not saying to never try anything for fear of never being good enough, i’m saying try what you want and try it for you! try something without expectations for yourself. try something just for the hell of it. try something without worrying what the worth of it to others is. try something and embrace your definition of ‘failure’ as an acceptable outcome, and then try again with the same expectations.
i know exactly how hard it is to want someone to love what you’ve created, because if people love what you’ve made and think it’s good, then maybe you’re lovable and good. and i know exactly how hard it is to look at your materials and think “well this paint cost $40, and this canvas cost $8, and it might take me 5 hours that i could be spending doing something more productive… what if the end result isn’t good? maybe i shouldn’t do it at all.” and spend all your time leveraging and balancing ‘worth’ until you’re paralyzed and end up doing nothing.
so just say fuck it! FUCK IT!!! just do shit!! just because you want to! because it feels good to make things! make a bunch of god-awful shit for fun! don’t make it for someone else’s approval! and i know everything everywhere says “well if you just work hard enough and practice long enough, you can be great at everything” and it sucks that that isn’t always true, but again, fuck it!!!! we’re going back to kindergarten, we’re slapping paint on the walls with our hands and having an absolute blast of it.
one of the purest experiences of humanity is creation, and you’ve been gifted with an ability that so few other things on this earth can do, don’t stifle it because you’re worried about what other people think. the nature of humanity is to create!! just go hog wild! make a castle out of cards and destroy it right after! you are your own god now, not the notes!