The Value of Trying
Many people decide not to start any projects because of fear of failing. Not only the fear of failing, but also that their efforts and time could be all for nothing. That would be a terrible thing if it were true. However, nothing is wasted. There is something to be learned and gained in every endeavor we take - whether it is personal development or an impact on someone else.
If we get caught up in defining our success in terms of how many people like us on Facebook, Twitter, or the amount of money we receive from a project, then we’re already setting ourselves up for failure. Art should be produced for the purpose of expression. Any creation easily becomes cheapened when we make commoditizing it a bigger priority than creative expression. Additionally, just because someone likes you or your art doesn’t change your value as a person.
If we don’t value art for the sake of expression and sending out a message, then it’s just an instrument meant to inflate our ego. When our ego becomes the priority, there isn’t a limit in how far you go to satisfy it. Eventually, there isn’t a definition of popular enough or good enough.
The effort you put into a project will be worth it simply for the purpose of expressing yourself. If no one sees your art, then that’s fine, you were able to create something - and that’s helpful in developing yourself. If you make an impact on someone’s life, even just one person, then that’s also “good enough.” There is no audience large enough to satisfy our ego if our ego is the priority.
I write a blog everyday in hope in impacting someone, somewhere. I post online to many strangers, in hopes that I can touch their lives. In a day in age in which we get increasingly reclusive due to technology, it isn’t easy to personally impact the lives of others. I want to do the most I can to reach out, even if people don’t personally know who I am.
For myself, the effort I put into anything is worth it as long I try. I’ve already helped others, and that makes me happy – on any level. If you try something and it failed, at lease you have the honor of knowing you tried and failed rather than wondering what could have happened. Additionally, a failure doesn’t mean that something will never work. Perhaps trying again will unlock doors and change your life. You never know the impact you can make for yourself and others until you try.
