Being Appreciated as a Creator

Being Appreciated(əˈprēSHēˌāt) as a Creator

By Steve Pavlina

If you’re a creative artist, how important is it for your work to be appreciated by the people you serve?

I’d say that it’s pretty important to be appreciated as an artist. This isn’t about needing validation from other people. This is about serving people who will receive your work with gratitude(ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od).

If you are appreciated, it’s probably because you’re providing something of value to people, something that resonates(ˈreznˌāt) with them and that they care about. You’ve earned that appreciation. I don’t think this needs to be your main reason for creating art, but it’s healthy to incorporate this into your big picture mindset of your life of an artist. When you create and share your art, you’re inviting people to experience and appreciate what you’re sharing. So can you allow yourself to be appreciated?

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Remember that you aren’t creating for everyone. You’re just creating for the appreciative people. That’s one reason you needn’t worry about critics(ˈkridik). If a critic shows up, and they don’t appreciate your work, then clearly they’re lost. The critic showed up where they don’t belong. So you can simply nudge(nəj) them out, or direct them to something they may actually appreciate.

It may take some time to calibrate(ˈkaləˌbrāt) yourself to the right audience, but you want to keep investing where the appreciation is. If you aren’t building an audience of appreciative people, then you’re building an audience of unappreciative people? What sense does that make?

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https://stevepavlina.com/blog/2021/03/being-appreciated-as-a-creator/