Why do you create?

Is it to get something off your chest, to release whatever’s been building up inside you?

Or is it to connect, to be received, to have someone say, “I get it. I feel that too.”

Most of us say “both.” But if you look closer, one usually leads the way.

Creating to Express Yourself

My favorite and go to for pure expression. This kind of creating is raw. It’s messy. It doesn’t care if anyone else likes it. It’s that journal entry no one will ever read. The beat you make at 2 a.m. that never leaves your hard drive. The sketch you rip out of your notebook because it was only ever meant for you.

Expression is about release. It’s about unclogging the inner pipe. It doesn’t demand to be understood, it just demands to exist.

Creating to Be Understood

Then there’s the other side. This creation is about connection. It’s about resonance. It’s the poem you post online hoping someone feels it. The product you design to solve a problem for others. The song or instrumental you release because silence would keep it trapped inside of you.

Creating to be understood is really about building bridges, between your experience and someone else’s.

The Tension Between the Two

Here’s the paradox:

• If you only create for yourself, you risk never being heard.

• If you only create for others, you risk losing your authenticity.

I have learnt, that the art is in holding both.

Some days you need to write the messy notes that no one will see. Other days you need to polish the message so the world can recognize itself in your words.

Neither is wrong. Both are simply necessary.

A Thought to Leave You With

The next time you sit down to create anything at all, whether it’s music, poetry, do-it-yourself projects, or something else entirely, i encourage you to ask yourself:

What am i trying to achieve and accomplish?

Am I trying to express, or be understood?

Believe me, neither answer makes you more or less of an artist or creative. But knowing which one is leading can change how you approach the work, and how it feels when you put it out into the world.