Thread by @sakaimii

I’ve been thinking about the key to continuing creative pursuits, and I think it’s a combo of:

-Enjoyment
-Healthy critique from those you trust
-A desire to see it to the end

And most importantly:

-A completely unreasonable part of you that thinks you can do anything

Enjoyment is easy. It’s what gets you through the door, and ultimately why you do it in the first place. It should generally be fun, though it may not ALWAYS be fun.

Critique is important, but you don’t have to take it unsolicited from any and everyone. And you shouldn’t, really. You can’t please everyone, and that’s fine. So instead, find someone whose feedback really counts for you, and comes from a good place.

Getting in the habit of finishing things, big or small, will always help to inspire you to do more. At least, it does for me. At a certain point in time I realized my favorite part of any project was finishing, because you can see the fruits of all your labor come together.

And finally, completely unreasonable belief in yourself and your abilities. It’s weird, and it puts you at odds with yourself, but I can’t tell you how many times this stupid unfounded pride has forced me to do things. I always feel like I’m one step away from victory.

And if you look back on everything, I’m clearly not LMAO. But I feel that way!!! All the time!! Simultaneously feeling like everything I put out is trash yet feeling like I’m a genius that’s about to make a masterpiece!! It’s delusional, and yet that side of me is why I’m here.

I mean, maybe she’s right, as she produces all these dreams of success in my head. They’re so tempting that I can’t help but try to make them come true. And all I know is that if I quit, I’ll be making that side of her a liar. And I don’t want that!! So I believe in her.