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This may not at all fit your particular situation. Are you employed? A freelancer? Something else? Do you have a boss or clients? Those are all factors to consider.
One path forward is to reframe to make your labor the reward: the work that you do, not the feedback or recognition from others, is where you draw your satisfaction.
Disconnect any sense of self-worth from the work that you do. When your work is not appreciated, that has no bearing on your value and identity. You are not what others say or don't say about your work.
Consider creating things for yourself only. (In addition to the things created in the work and income and project space.) Develop the practice using your gifts to delight yourself, you'll become less needful and attached to feedback from others.
One path forward is to reframe to make your labor the reward: the work that you do, not the feedback or recognition from others, is where you draw your satisfaction.
Disconnect any sense of self-worth from the work that you do. When your work is not appreciated, that has no bearing on your value and identity. You are not what others say or don't say about your work.
Consider creating things for yourself only. (In addition to the things created in the work and income and project space.) Develop the practice using your gifts to delight yourself, you'll become less needful and attached to feedback from others.
Oct 24, 2024
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Rec
🎨First things first: it doesn't matter the quality, the quantity, or the end result. If you create, you're a creative, full stop! Don't tell yourself you're a copier, think of it as adopting little pieces of the things you love and using them as inspiration to drive you. As long as you're not straight-up plagiarizing, there's nothing wrong with using something you love as a stepping stool to grow your own abilities, or as a palette with which you paint your own world.
Also, it's totally normal to feel stuck in a rut, or unoriginal, or to fall out of love with something you've made, or to feel doubt start seeping in. And it sucks! I'm often stricken with the realization that I'm one voice in a sea of millions, and I feel insecure that people will see me as lesser. Or worse: overlook my creations entirely. It makes me lose momentum in my creative process, and makes me feel more disheartened and nervous to put my stuff out there in the first place. "What if I put my heart and soul into this and nobody sees it?" "What if I bleed onto the pages and the consensus is "it's mid"???" "What if I'm wasting my time, and come back in two weeks and think this is utter garbage?" "What if people think it's too close to <other person's work>?"
But then I remember... we're kind of ALL out here, putting our hearts into stuff, trying new things, throwing around ideas, and hoping something sticks. And that's how pretty much EVERY work of art is made! And while it's awesome to get outpourings of support on the things you make, and recognition makes your work feel worthwhile... nothing is going to make you feel more fulfilled than putting your heart and soul into something you're passionate about, and seeing it through to YOUR satisfaction. Ultimately it's not about what other people think, it's about keeping that passion alive in you, and cultivating it so that it never dies.
So what can we do about burnout? Or lack of inspiration? Or when the hope levels are too low? Unfortunately all my "tips" are more abstract than practical step-by-step fixes.
Personally, I recommend steadily and eagerly engaging in the things that you tend to "copy" in the first place. Stop for a moment, and picture the word "enthusiasm." What comes to your mind? What makes you feel that way? Chase that feeling down like it's your most treasured keepsake floating away in wild rapids! Watch shows with artstyles you aspire to. Listen to songs that get you daydreaming. Get out in nature during the sunrise/sunset. Go see animals in a zoo/aquarium, or go people-watching in a mall/park. All the while, don't stop THINKING and MAKING THINGS. Doesn't have to be cute, or fleshed-out, because the beauty is in the moment. Snap candid photos, sketch freehand vignettes of what you see, jot down prose inspired by your surroundings, do whatever you can to keep your momentum without losing the joy associated with it.
The more you let yourself create freely, the more comfortable you'll be in the future when faced with the dreaded Block, the bumps, the discouragement, or anything else that may try to slow you down. And honestly? If you still find yourself stuck, good news: you're still a creative! And that will hold true as long as you desire to be.
TLDR: Don't stop making beautiful things, and if you get to a point where you feel you can no longer make beautiful things, make "ugly" things and surround yourself with things you see as beautiful.
Also, it's totally normal to feel stuck in a rut, or unoriginal, or to fall out of love with something you've made, or to feel doubt start seeping in. And it sucks! I'm often stricken with the realization that I'm one voice in a sea of millions, and I feel insecure that people will see me as lesser. Or worse: overlook my creations entirely. It makes me lose momentum in my creative process, and makes me feel more disheartened and nervous to put my stuff out there in the first place. "What if I put my heart and soul into this and nobody sees it?" "What if I bleed onto the pages and the consensus is "it's mid"???" "What if I'm wasting my time, and come back in two weeks and think this is utter garbage?" "What if people think it's too close to <other person's work>?"
But then I remember... we're kind of ALL out here, putting our hearts into stuff, trying new things, throwing around ideas, and hoping something sticks. And that's how pretty much EVERY work of art is made! And while it's awesome to get outpourings of support on the things you make, and recognition makes your work feel worthwhile... nothing is going to make you feel more fulfilled than putting your heart and soul into something you're passionate about, and seeing it through to YOUR satisfaction. Ultimately it's not about what other people think, it's about keeping that passion alive in you, and cultivating it so that it never dies.
So what can we do about burnout? Or lack of inspiration? Or when the hope levels are too low? Unfortunately all my "tips" are more abstract than practical step-by-step fixes.
Personally, I recommend steadily and eagerly engaging in the things that you tend to "copy" in the first place. Stop for a moment, and picture the word "enthusiasm." What comes to your mind? What makes you feel that way? Chase that feeling down like it's your most treasured keepsake floating away in wild rapids! Watch shows with artstyles you aspire to. Listen to songs that get you daydreaming. Get out in nature during the sunrise/sunset. Go see animals in a zoo/aquarium, or go people-watching in a mall/park. All the while, don't stop THINKING and MAKING THINGS. Doesn't have to be cute, or fleshed-out, because the beauty is in the moment. Snap candid photos, sketch freehand vignettes of what you see, jot down prose inspired by your surroundings, do whatever you can to keep your momentum without losing the joy associated with it.
The more you let yourself create freely, the more comfortable you'll be in the future when faced with the dreaded Block, the bumps, the discouragement, or anything else that may try to slow you down. And honestly? If you still find yourself stuck, good news: you're still a creative! And that will hold true as long as you desire to be.
TLDR: Don't stop making beautiful things, and if you get to a point where you feel you can no longer make beautiful things, make "ugly" things and surround yourself with things you see as beautiful.
Jul 19, 2025
Rec
➿Pull a joni mitchell and engage in arts that differ from your primary to inform it at a later time.
If you lean more toward visual arts try poetry, song writing, music making, acting/performances for the self, crochet, clay, claymation, videography, sound collection, whistling, discovering new sounds you can make etc.
Often when i want to create but i feel tired or uninspired i try to use still life or my surroundings— BUT If thats boring i ask myself a question and let my train of thought ramble -> connecting that rambling to my pen on paper
Honestly setting your inner critic to rest and creating things that are imperfect is actually incredible!
More often than not letting first drafts be final for a moment allows you to discover what you crave to create.
Rec
😃For me, while i am not in a super creative job force, the big reason I stopped creating is because I felt immense pressure to create for a profit or recognition from people. I felt like I had to do things to be better or comparable to other creators. and then when I put too much time into it with little result, I would become upset.
What I do now is have the expectation in my head that anything I do, I do it for myself and my own amusement. It’s not to sell something, or to gloat about it social media. I just do it to get the creative energy out.
What I do now is have the expectation in my head that anything I do, I do it for myself and my own amusement. It’s not to sell something, or to gloat about it social media. I just do it to get the creative energy out.
Jan 7, 2025
Top Recs from @mattshawsome
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🛑this is worthy of celebration: the lack of video—autoplay video, noisy inane video, panicky video, algorithmic, dumb video, rabbit hole video, any video—on pi.fyi is a good thing
Oct 5, 2024
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🥾this is going to hurt — A LOT — but it's getting to the point where there's no other option
Mar 11, 2025