Create Anyways
2020 was the year of hobbies. Everyone was stuck at home, so we started making videos on TikTok, picking up that guitar for the first time in years, watching Bob Ross painting videos, and making sourdough. I never jumped on the sourdough making because I didn’t have the patience for it. But one of the best things to come out of 2020 was the return to hobbies and art and learning to slow down a little bit.
When hustle culture started making a comeback, the big question became how to monetize the hobbies that had brought you joy during the pandemic. The amount of people trying new hobbies declined faster than the toilet paper on the shelves. But why? Why are we so quick to abandon the things we love, because they don’t provide us with a financial gain?
If nobody clicks the little heart under your pictures, do you still take them? If your video gets zero views, will you still make them? If you only play your instrument at home for your family, if your art never ends up as a side hustle, will you still do it? Your art doesn’t need validation to be worth doing. Hobbies were around before people started using them for financial benefit. People were creating long before creating turned into a job or a side hustle. We create to add beauty to the world, to find joy in it and to share that joy when we can.
If your happy little trees don’t look like Bob Ross’ (and I can tell you from experience, it’s a lot harder than he makes it look), but they make you happy, keep painting them. If you love to sing, but can’t carry a tune, sing anyways, even if it’s only in the shower or the garden. If you love to bake, but your treats don’t come out Pinterest worthy, I promise they will still bring joy to the ones you share them with. If you fall in love with a craft, but no one wants to pay you for it, keep adding beauty to the world.
If the beauty you create never impacts thousands of people, create anyways. It may impact someone around you. It’ll impact yourself.
Cheering you on from the sidelines,
SB
