When Creating Stops Being Fun
This Just In: knowing when (and how) to hit delete is important for every creator’s sanity.
Everything Selina Gomez touches turns to gold, and Only Murders in the Building is no exception. Whoever had the brilliant idea to cast her alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short deserves all the awards.
The current season pits the multigenerational detective team on the case of yet another murder in the building. One of the early episodes invites us to meet a host of new characters from the building’s west side. One such charter is described as “Christmas Guy.”
Observed from across the courtyard, Christmas Guy’s apartment is decorated for the holiday year-round. The apartment’s occupant is constantly wearing Christmas sweaters. Based on this view, Christmas Guy is obsessed with Christmas.
When Selina Gomez’s character, Mabel, visits Christmas Guy, she’s presented with homemade cookies, eggnog, and classic Christmas music furthering the obsessive viewpoint. However, when they start talking, it’s clear that Rudy (Christmas Guy’s actual name) hates Christmas.
I’m a fitness influencer. I did one Christmas-themed video that went viral, and now I can’t crack ten likes without a Christmas theme.
Rudy is stuck making Christmas-themed content because it’s the only way to appease followers and gain algorithmic traction. While the character’s story is fictitious, it is a real issue that far too many creators fall into.
I ran a moderately popular Orlando-based food Instagram account for nearly a decade. I started in the early days of IG and grew a modest following, sharing images taken at local restaurants and food trucks. It was a fun hobby that coincided with my obsession with delicious food. The account also coincided with a food truck hosting program I ran, which gave me a lot of access to the local food scene.
Managing the account was a lot of fun right up until it wasn’t.
I realized that I’d go to restaurants not to enjoy the food but to create content for the account. I was thinking about photographic angles and staging. Yes, enjoying the food was part of the experience, but it became secondary.
Eventually, I stopped taking photos at restaurants and refocused on enjoying the food and the time spent with friends and family. After some dormant time, I deleted everything from the account.
I was thinking about this over the weekend when I realized I hadn’t taken photos at events or restaurants with friends in some time. I swung that pendulum so far that taking pictures doesn’t even cross my mind. It’s the irony of upgrading my phone each year “for the camera.”
Choosing to walk away from something that is no longer fulfilling, exciting, or helping us grow is extremely healthy.
It can be very difficult to make that decision, especially if you’re caught in a burdensome content cycle like Rudy the Christmas Guy. But the moment creating something you enjoy becomes a burden, you have a choice: either lean in and turn your creativity into a job, knowing it won’t always be fulfilling, or explore other options to fuel your creativity.
Choosing to lean in and turn creativity into a job is a fine choice for those who can make it work. Me? I can’t create for the sake of followers and likes. I don’t want to chase algorithmic growth. It’s just not fun for me.
In many ways, this choice echoes the amazing talk Cabel shared in his recent XOXO talk. He suggests we always ask questions, keep people guessing, and search for what excites us. I wholeheartedly agree, and that talk is well worth the 20-minute watch.
We don’t open ourselves to possibilities when our creative pursuits burden us. We get stuck, frustrated, and burned out.
Chasing our creativity should keep everyone guessing what we will do next. Not only is it more fun, but it keeps our options open to chase our excitement and enjoy the world around us. After all, what is creativity without enjoyment?