Why YOUR Why Matters | How To Become A Better Content Creator
Have you ever taken a moment to determine your “why” behind what you do? What motivates you, besides money and the thought of possible notoriety? What moves you to create?
If you haven’t yet discovered the answers to these questions, now is the time.
You might be questioning “why does my why matter?”. Why can’t it just be about collecting my coins and moving right along? Why aren’t the likes on Instagram enough to be my motivating factor?
Because here’s a newsflash: as a creator, things aren’t always going to flow smoothly.
There will be times when ideas will be scarce and inspiration will be lacking. Money won’t always be rushing into your account (hell, it might barely be trickling in). There will be times when you have to multitask and you'll be overwhelmed and wondering how you’re keeping afloat.
There will be moments when you stop and look around and feel like everyone else is killing the game except for you. There will be times when you wonder what it’s all for and if you should even continue on your journey.
And in these moments, the idea of money will not be enough. The idea of notoriety will not be enough. These things will not sustain you.
Relying on these factors to get you through those times is like walking through an endless desert and receiving a drop of water on your tongue every 3 miles and actualy expecting that to sustain you.
It won’t.
When tough times come (because trust me, they’re either on their way, currently here, or have recently just left) your WHY is what will get you through and keep you pushing.
Last month I had the opportunity to attend Deun Ivory’s workshop “WOC + The Art of Portraiture”. And y’all. It was pretty awesome.
If you know anything about Deun and follow her on Instagram, you know she’s super inspirational and always has a good word for her followers.
Her workshop focused on how to use your iPhone as your primary photography tool, which y’all know I’m ALL about (check out my resource links at the bottom of this post if this is something you’re interested in).
Even more impactful than her photography teaching, however, was hearing her speak on her journey as a creative and discussing her “why”.
Hearing her talk about what motivates her as an entrepreneur and creator just drove the point home that it is THE most important thing you can do for your brand. To discover your purpose is to truly begin the walk on your individual creative path.
Starting your journey without determining your “why” is like heading out onto a nature trail with no sense of direction. Where will you end up? You’re not sure. You have no map, no compass, no signs pointing you the right way… you’re sure to end up lost.
If you haven’t yet determined your “why” now is a good time as any to take the time out to do so. Once you’ve discovered your why, watch how it infiltrates everything you create from that point on. It gives your work meaning and provides you with the motivation to keep going even when you feel like you aren’t making a difference.
So, what is your why?
Share your feelings on the topic below!
What keeps you motivated to keep going on your creative journey? How did you discover your why?
If you haven’t yet discovered your why, what steps do you plan on taking to do so? I’d love to hear!
Resources for how to step your mobile photography game up: