Why do people pursue creative endeavors?
Much as we'd like to think that we create “for creativity's sake,” the human psyche tends to be programmed to engage in activities because there is some kind of reward for doing so. That reward may be quite intangible and have nothing to do with monetary rewards, accolades, or anything like that… but even doing something in order to satisfy a personal sense of accomplishment ultimately represents a ”reward.”
House on the Hill
One of the interesting subsets of rewards is the relationship between the amount of effort we put forth and the perceived reward we receive as a result of that effort.
There are actually a great number of variables involved in that particular equation.
The Bell Tower
For example, I very much enjoy both writing and painting, but I also get frustrated with it and tend to set it aside when things are not working out the way I think they should be.
Stated a little differently, if we assume that my reward comes in the form of fictitious “feel good coins” if those feel good coins don't seem forthcoming when I'm frantically working on something I'm likely to just stop, after a while. Other creatives with different personalities from mine might continue working and working and working in an attempt to reach the point where those feel good coins actually show up. Yet others expect to end up with a "surplus" of feel good coins every time they start something... and if they don't get them, they become shrieking banshees of rage.
So that leaves us considering the point at which the reward for creativity seems to be in balance with the amount of effort we perceive that we are putting forth.
In the world of art and creativity, maybe it sounds a bit mercenary to be thinking of things in terms of output and reward... but whether we like it or not it tends to be how our minds work. Yes, of course there are exceptions!
Ferry Dock, Port Townsend, WA
Anyway, the reason I ended up thinking about this and writing a post has to do with my own art; and specifically the fact that in spite of having more time than ever to work on it (due to Covid and spending more time at home), I'm actually spending less time than I have in many years doing art.
I sat down and wondered about that, and realized that the thing that has been missing from the equation is our regular outings to Arts and Crafts Shows where I'd enjoy not so much just sales, but more importantly the interaction with the people who look at my work and give feedback... regardless of whether that feedback is negative, positive or maybe even nonsensical.
And one of the interesting takeaways from that realization is that much as I often say that I prefer being alone and would ideally like to just sell my work online, that actually doesn't seem to be serving what I really want (need?), at least on a subconscious level.
It was just an interesting thing to think about, and it made me wonder how other creatives think about — if at all — the relationship between the desire to create and the ”rewards” we get from creating.
I appreciate you stopping by, and please do leave a comment below if you feel so inclined!
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All images are our own, unless otherwise attributed
