Creating Despite the Critics

I have a handful of friends who —as much as I love them —are quite different to me. Most noticeably, when it comes to creativity.

They have mocked me for vlogging, blogging, tweeting, posting Instagram stories, making TikTok videos, and for any other content creation activities, including writing on Medium (until I started making money on here that is… funny).

To this handful of friends, creating content is “cringe”, egotistical, and pointless.

Why would a grown man seek validation and attention from strangers? What sort of idiot must I be?

Sure, a lot of this mockery came in the form of friendly banter, but it serves to highlight the chasm of difference between my attitude and theirs.

It’s a classic case of creators versus consumers.

We’ll get into this concept in a moment, but first I have to confess their criticism hurt. On the face of it, it seemed valid. There’s no logical reason to create; no logical reason to write, draw, make music or perform stand-up comedy.

But since when is being human about being logical?

Since when are love, art and passion about logic? Since when is being a sentient being on a spinning rock flying through space got to do with logic?

We are not computers, we are human beings and therefore in some way or another, we are all artists, inventors, joke-tellers, and story-makers. We all have hopes and dreams.

I’m convinced even the most poindexter practical types out there have an artistic flair. It’s what makes us human.

But I see so many people trapped by the expectations of others. The fear of judgement and rejection can be so powerful that it will have you abandoning your calling and huddling in the shadows.

Creators vs Consumers

In the noughties, I had a blog called ‘Music Gob’ and somewhat hilariously, one of my friends often referred to me by this name when he saw me.

“Alright Music Gob, want a drink?” It was funny but scathing. A passive-aggressive criticism.

However the friend in question was a creative man himself, a keen drummer and graphic designer, but lacked confidence in both, so they were part-time hobbies at best, hobbies he hid under a bushel.

He once said putting content online was egotistical, but I suspect he refrained from doing it as the vulnerability terrified him. Instead, he read and watched other people’s content. He was a consumer but wanted to be a creator.

Another friend criticised me for tweeting, even though he was on Twitter himself. “I read it, I don’t post on it” was how he proudly squared the circle of his thoughts.

Another mocked me for being on TikTok. When I explained it was just a video site, he insisted it was childish and “not real life”. But he readily watches Netflix each night and often visits YouTube. So suddenly the platform matters?

My point is that they are consumers, and therefore they cannot understand the mindset of a creator. They will consume creator content whilst mocking those who create.

Understand your close friends and family will come at you with the biggest axe swings of criticism. Their words carry weight too, as these are people you care about, so passive digs hurt. Over the years, it can be the death of one thousand cuts, enough to kill your dreams.

My father was a huge music enthusiast. The rest of my family were into football. He grew up in the 1960s in London, he was deep into the scene, fashion, bands, clubs, drugs and hippies.

He wanted to play guitar and make music. When he began, his family mocked him for his efforts; it didn’t help his cousin was fast becoming a world-famous pop star, so everyone drew comparisons and laughed at the gap in success.

The result? He gave up playing guitar and making music and set up a painting and decorating business instead.

Other people’s opinions will keep you tethered in place if you let them.

I’ve made several thousand dollars writing on the internet since March 2020, and no one mocks that. But I couldn’t have done it without ten years of blogging as my training ground.

If I’d caved into pressure, I’d have stopped writing long ago.

The turning point was when I realised these 2 things:

1. Some people would rather create and some people would rather consume.

No one group is better than another (both groups need each other equally!), but sometimes people strongly pride themselves on consuming content; what box set they have watched, what news they have read and they do not understand the creative urge.

If you find yourself on the side creating, do not question the urge, just lean into it. That’s your only job.

2. When your intuition tells you to do something, you should do it. Don’t worry about the why.

Simon Sinek talks a lot of crap about “finding your why” but it’s so easy to rationalise your desires out of existence; your desire to create, to write, to share, to be vulnerable. They all balance on a precipice of fear, all it takes is one small criticism to nudge them over the edge and plunge them into an abyss of shame so they never see the light of day.

You must create in the face of criticism because you need to.

End of justification.

It makes no logical sense but do it anyway. That way it means something, to you. Life is absurd, but as Albert Camus said, we give it meaning by choosing its meaning.

Creating art is much like religious faith, it doesn’t make much sense to outsiders who don’t feel the pull, but it feels essential for you.

You can’t point to why you need to create, but it hints at something important, it hints at truth, it hints at answers. So keep following your nose. Let people call you cringe or egotistical. Because when you create, they will not understand.

Naysayers come in many forms, it’s not your job to get them to understand.

I can’t prove it but I’m pretty sure naysayers told John Lennon to stop playing guitar in 1960, they told Picasso his Cubist paintings were nonsensical rubbish in 1907, and they told JD Salinger to stop writing his novel about a drop-out school kid in 1944.

Sure you might not be a Lennon, a Picasso, or a Salinger, but that doesn’t make your journey into creating art any less authentic.

It’s authentic for you.

You do not need the approval of those who don’t even want to create. You don’t need approval to be you. So don’t ask for it. Or expect it. And don’t ask why you create, either. You don’t need to answer that question.

Instead, just create. Let that be your answer.

Trust the process and forget what others think. They will never know the need to create, they will never be called to turn nothing into something, and they will never understand your creative needs. They haven’t been chosen to create.

You have.