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The Times I Wake Up To See If People Like Me….

“I posted a cool shot on Instagram. I just blogged an image yesterday. I gotta get up and see if anyone likes it! Maybe they’ll even comment and tell me how awesome I am!”

This is me. ALL. THE. TIME. Seeking gratification that can only be found through the “like” button and justification that can only come from the gushing compliment of a stranger. Why? Because I am human. And there is a part of all of us that needs approval and goes looking for it every chance we get. There’s a part of me that needs to be told how great I am so that I can go on and be truly “happy.”

But what if I post an image that I like and nobody digs it? What if nobody hits the “like” button? Does that make it any less creative? Does that make it anything less than what it is? Does that somehow negate the fact that it was in my head and now it’s out into the world? Does it take away it’s value?

No.

I heard Todd Henry say once, “Work has value for the sake of work. You may be recognized for your work and that’s fine. You may also labor in obscurity doing brilliant work your entire life and that’s fine too.”

Todd Henry Quotes, The work Blog, Chris Creed

The most important thing you can do today is make something. Make something only you can make. The question of will people like it or not is irrelevant. Just contribute.

Question:

Is the idea of celebrity or approval hindering you from making something that really matters?

What steps can you take to break the cycle of approval?

Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you from making something only you can make. The Value of your work has nothing to do with a “like” button.

  • verdant1 - Ouch! You got me 😉

    I must admit this has become more of a problem for me since people actually started reading and following my blog – before that I spent well over a year writing whatever I liked without seeking the approval zing (instead I was pleasantly suprised if someone read something I’d written).

    I think the mix of ‘putting your creative stuff out into a public place where people do see it’ and ‘immediate notification of likes and comments to whichever-appliance-you-like’ are promoting and supporting this instant gratification/justification.

    But you are most certainly correct that public approval does not give extra worth to something (neither does lack of it make it worthless). It is what it is – if people like it, that’s a nice bonus… though it can also give us creative types hope that there are other like-minded people somewhere on this planet!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Totally! Yeah there is nothing wrong with wanting to be liked. I just don’t want that feeling of the NEED for someone to like my work to keep me from making something awesome 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Tom Schaber - Chris,

    What an interesting take on approval. I have been approval prone my entire life until three years ago. I had one of those life changing experiences that truly does alter the course of your life. I’m getting the hang of joy doing what I do best and if it helps someone-awesome; if a yawn ensues so be it. And thanks for stopping by my blog site.

    TomReplyCancel

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