I really love writing and that’s why I’ve started my blog, that’s why I’m in the process of transcribing a novel for which I already wrote the first draft of the manuscript by hand, that’s why I create reels with the poems or texts that my creative mind thinks of. But I am not doing all of those things for a monetary motive or likes or notoriety, I am doing them because it makes me so happy to write, to create content and to transform into reality the ideas that are in my head, in the first place. Sure, I hope that my books will be bringing me financial compensations and that’s because it is my dream to make a living out of my passions, also because my aim is to have a job that I really love (actually, more than one 🤪 since I have many passions) so I need to leave the domain I’m in now, I must stop working where I’m currently working and do other jobs (writing being one of them ) that will make me happy and bring me enough money to live my life. But, I didn’t start my blog/creating reels/writing my books with the purpose of making money (even though is nothing wrong with that, and that’s my dream actually- being paid for doing what I love, so if you want to create something and be financial compensated for it that’s great and perfectly normal), I’m just saying that it wasn’t my intention when starting those things because my focus was on finding ways to add some meaning into my life, to feel happier, to follow my passions, to do stuff I love doing just for the joy it brings, to maybe help in some way/inspire the people who would come across my creations.
All that being said, I do acknowledge that nowadays following your passion without a financial goal/end result attached to it seems like a hard thing to do, and sometimes it even feels like an act of courage because the accent is not put on how you feel when pursuing your dreams/following your heart’s desires/creating stuff just for fun, but on how many followers you have/how much money that passion is bringing you, so a lot of people don’t even try it. But also, there are people who stop creating when they see that their creations aren’t as “likeable”/financially compensating as they would have wanted or are made to believe they should be even if that wasn’t the intention behind those projects, and that’s because a lot of humans think that if you don’t get money out of a passion it means is just a hobby. And by sharing from my experience I hope to help change this narrative and let others know that: being intrinsically motivated to doing things is enough and we don’t need external validation when following our passions; creating stuff just for the pure joy it brings is not only better for our overall well-being and happiness, but is also what keeps us going when things don’t turn out as we would have liked; if we have a sense of purpose from doing those things that is a result on itself and a strong reason to keep doing it; feeling happier when transforming our ideas into reality is a motive enough to try it, so the financial reason doesn’t have to come into play at all. But again, if you have the possibility to follow your passion and make a living out of that or at least have another stream of income because of it, that’s even more amazing.
When I started my blog and told the people around me about it, I didn’t say I’ve done it because of a monetary motive since that really wasn’t the case, but one couple started talking among themselves (with me in the same room) asking each other how can you make money from a blog. And another person, after a few months of having made my blog public, asked how it is going and if it has brought me some results, financially speaking, and once again I reiterated the fact that I didn’t start my blog for financial reasons. So yes, the vast majority of people equate creating something with making money, and yes, in this capitalist society we live in the accent is put on doing stuff for consumption and monetary value, and yes, it’s so common to be asked how much money/how many likes/how many followers have you gained by having a blog/public Instagram account and posting a lot of stuff/by doing that project/etc. But I don’t let society’s rules/standards/other people’s opinion change the motives for creating what I want and also, I will be doing that as long as it will keep bringing me joy and meaning and satisfaction, even if I won’t have any “quantifiable results” or the results the world pushes us for. And actually, I can show that my reasons are my own and those above because, there was a time last year when I didn’t have any readers for a few months so basically I wrote like 3 blog posts on a row that no one was reading but I didn’t stop writing even though the zero-readers months kept adding up. At that time, I asked myself how long I will be writing new articles if I will be the only one reading them and my answer to that was: I will do it as long as it will make me happy and it will bring a sense of purpose into my life. So, I didn’t stop writing and after a few months my blog posts were being read again, but even if that hadn’t happened, at one point I had realized that I’m okay with having a public blog that is also private (since I was the only one reading my stuff) and that I’m totally fine with the fact that I might be the only person in the world who has a private-public blog.
When it comes to my Insta page, yes, I did make it public in the hopes that I will be reaching more people but not because I want to be an influencer and have this as my job (even though is nothing wrong with that so if you’re passionate about it and is something that brings you meaning and joy, go for it), no, it’s because I want to be an inspirer, someone who inspires and serves as an example for those around and reminds them to: enjoy their life and really live it; love themselves and take care of their needs and their mental health; do more of the things that makes them happy; follow their passions; be kind to themselves and other human beings. And that’s one of the reasons why I have posted regularly for the past 2 and half years, and why I keep creating reels even though I only have about 130 followers and the number hasn’t changed for more than a year. So, my motives for continuing to share stuff on Instagram are: I love creating content, I love to transform the ideas in my head into reality; I want to bring more positivity in the world and help other people be happier; I want to be an inspirer; it brings me a sense of purpose and I find meaning in doing these things; it makes me happy. And although I would love to reach more people and have lots of followers who would benefit/learn/get some joy from my creations, I don’t do anything for it like following algorithm’s rules or telling those I know to share my stuff because my focus is on creating things, on having a positive impact in the world, even if it’s small. And who knows? Maybe the number of followers will grow organically in time (a lot of time by the looks of it 🤣), one can hope, but that’s not my purpose because for me, having a sense of meaning and feeling happy when I create content is enough.
So, if you are going through something similar right now and you’re not sure if you should continue to bring those things into the world, I recommend to ask yourself: Do I still feel a sense of purpose when doing that? Does creating these stuff still bring me joy even though no one is benefiting from/buying/seeing my creations? Do I still find it meaningful? If the answer to those questions is yes, but you also need to make money, can you find a new stream of income and keep creating? The thing is, finding joy in your work or a sense of purpose is sometimes impossible so you need to do other things that will bring you those feelings. Also, a lot of people stay in or take on jobs they don’t like because they need to live, they need money, so finding meaning in your life cannot always come from your job, but we need to have a bit of it so that we can be happy or happier. And, the sense of purpose can come from various things, it doesn’t have to be something you do publicly or on a large scale, you can find meaning in some of your everyday tasks, like: cooking, gardening, spending time with your loved ones, raising a family, making your house a home, etc. So, please do more of the things that makes you feel purposeful and happy, but through writing this article I want to encourage you to follow your passions, to start those projects you feel strongly about, those that would bring joy when doing them, or to keep creating those stuff that fill you with meaning even if you don’t get the results you’d hoped for, let the happiness and sense of purpose that they bring into your life be enough, at least for now because no one knows what the future holds. And if trying/doing it scares you in some way but excites you at the same time, that means it is the right thing for you, that means your soul is happy, even though your mind may be freaking out, that means you should try it because even if it would lead to nowhere or you will discover along the way that it isn’t really what you want, it will make you feel happier for trying it and more confident so it will help you go after other things in the future. So basically, you don’t have too much to lose but you might have a lot to gain, because it might make you feel happy or find a sense of purpose, because you might be lucky enough to transform it into a meaningful job or even change your professional life.
Something to think about:
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- Do you have a strong passion? Or a thing you really love doing, one that fills you with happiness and satisfaction?
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- Do you like creating stuff just for the pure joy it brings?
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- Does it feel meaningful to you when engaging in a certain activity?
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- Do you often think about a creative outlet you’d love to immerse yourself in?
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- Do you get a sense of purpose when doing something?
If the answer to the above questions is yes, then do it: start the project, begin writing that book, transform those ideas in your mind into reality, etc.
I know you’ve heard it before so you may be tempted to just glaze over the next sentences but I invite to really let the words sink in, to take them in your heart not just in your mind, to have a bit of time to really digest them. Life is unpredictable and no one knows what’s around the corner so, please don’t let society’s rules/other people’s opinion/the standards of another person/fear/the idea that everything you do must be attached to a financial goal or have a quantifiable result, stop you from following your passions, from starting the project that will bring you happiness and a sense of purpose, from doing something you really love. And please, stop saying you will do it when the time is right/circumstances are better, please stop believing that your passions must bring you money or else it’s not worth following them, please stop thinking about what others might believe if you do it. It’s your life, it goes by so fast and it’s in your hands to make it one that you really love, one that excites you, one filled with meaning and happy moments and a sense of purpose and joy and things that you’re passionate about.
Happy fact: Trying new things makes us happier.
