We all want to fit in
Even though we may not want to admit it, we all want to fit in and be liked.
We want to have our creative work noticed and appreciated. In other words, we want to create something that people will like.
So we look to see what’s popular and what’s trending at the moment.
Whether we’re writing dystopian YA fiction or redoing the design of our website to have a more flat design because that’s what Apple is currently doing, we all move towards the latest fad.
We just need to stop trying
There’s nothing wrong with wanting people to like us and it’s probably a good idea to notice what’s selling and what’s not. However when it comes to our creativity and what we should be creating, we need to listen more to ourselves.
We will never influence the world by trying to be like it.
We need to find our own path and create something the world has never seen. As the author Herman Melville once said, “It’s better to fail in originality, than succeed in imitation.”
That doesn’t mean that we need to become Lady Gaga-esque weird in order to be noticed. We just need to not be afraid to speak in our own creative voice instead of trying to blindly imitate those around us.
Those who like what we do will eventually find us. In the meantime, we need to stop trying to fit in and just create the work that’s inside of us.
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