what if no one likes my art
also: why you never do the thing you say you want to do
hi everyone! i hope you are doing amazing. i want to say that i have been busy living my life. but that isn’t the whole truth. i got cold feet from posting, and only recently gathered the courage to be bold once more. thank you for subscribing, it means the world to me! as usual, please let me know if this resonates with you. in the meantime, you can follow me on insta and youtube, or ask me for life advice!
i have always wanted to create content. i take the leap, pursue it for a bit, and then become cold feet once more. whether it is a simple instagram post or a ten-minute-long video, the cycle repeats itself.
even after i have gathered all my energy to create. doubt follows me along. it grows the more i want to do the thing. manifesting into a question compromising my intentions: what if no one likes my art?
i am sure i am not the only one. there are so many people who want to do something only to chicken out at the last minute for fear of criticism. the fear masquerades in logical justification, i just don’t have the time right now! or in sound postponement, i will do it when i am better prepared!
sometimes my thoughts go down a toxic spiral: if someone dislikes my art, it means that someone at least consumed it! it is so much better than shouting into the void, creating for a mere audience of one.
in my mind, the idea of creating with only myself on the receiving end invokes a similar feeling as performing at a standup comedy show, with no one but myself laughing at the joke i just told. i would want to disappear into thin air.
but in reality, i am sitting on my desk behind my computer. i can easily pretend that i am not writing a newsletter only i am reading. here is a secret to starting something from scratch by yourself, you have to pretend.
you have to pretend like you are writing for an audience of one thousand even if you are the only one reading your writings. because you will not build an audience unless you put yourself out there. to have others believe in you, you have to believe in yourself first.
besides when you create, you should first and foremost do so for yourself. rejection, or not getting noticed, can feel terribly personal when it comes to your art. you have put your whole heart and all your hours into it and they choose to not like it? how dare they!
rejection should feel personal because art is personal. it should be a reflection of who you are. art is only good when it is authentic. when you open your heart and pour everything you have. if you feel personally attacked, you are on to something.
the early days of creating when no one is watching are also the golden days of learning. you learn about what you like and don’t, as well as what works and doesn’t. if you face this period with an open mind, you will surprise yourself with how much you grow and how things will be far more interesting than your predictions.
but you have got to start. do the thing you have always wanted to do, whatever it may be. having a bunch of ideas and never launching is the recipe to regret. while it saves you from present-day discomfort, you are depriving yourself of living your life to the fullest.
fear is a completely normal emotion. but the cost of letting it dictate how you live your life is far too costly. what if no one likes my art? that is okay as long as you do.