Nothing will ever be good enough. You’ll never be satisfied with what you write or paint or play. The Mozarts and Picassos of the world are born with an innate genius. You’re average, no savant. And so nothing you do, no creative endeavor, will ever be great, maybe not even good. Why not just quit now? All good songs have already been sung, the good paintings already painted, and there are absolutely no good stories left to be told. Not by you, anyway.
S T O P.
To anyone who has ever picked up a brush or pen or instrument. To anyone who has ever tried to turn nothing into something beautiful. To anyone who is longing to get started and finally pick up that new hobby. To my creatives.
No one starts out perfect. All the great artists of history started by copying the greats before them. All established writers have rooms full of books they’ve read. No musician plays without an influence. So, you, who is looking at that first poem or drawing and thinking it might be better to just throw in the towel now, don’t. Art is a language of its own and no one is born speaking it perfectly.
Everything to be done has been done before, but not by you. There are thousands of love songs. So what? None were written by you. None had your style or voice behind them. None told your story. Art doesn’t have to break out of all the boxes in order to be great. Art is great when it speaks on the things that we all experience, the things that bring us together. So, tell your story. No one can do it as well as you. And that’s enough to make your work worth creating.
Art doesn’t have to all be good. It doesn’t have to garner attention or praise. It’s alright if your art is just for you or for the people you’re close to. The things we do for ourselves are the most worthwhile. If your art isn’t met with wide acclaim, that doesn’t mean it’s not amazing. Many legends are never recognized in the beginning, some not even in their lifetime. But your art can have an impact on just one person and that’s important enough. You made something where there was nothing. Something exists in the world now because of you and that’s the greatest magic humans are capable of.
So, follow your passion. Throw paint on the canvas, scribble nonsense in the diary, belt the note until your stomach hurts. Go create!