Those Who Value You Most Will Value Your Work The Least

Just because your friends and family do not value your work does not mean it is not valuable

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Have you ever had a brilliant idea and been so excited to tell your people that you fantasize about it until you meet again? Have you finally reached that moment to be met with a list of reasons why your idea won’t work?

Have you poured your heart into your writing or your craft and presented it to your most beloved? Were you shocked by some who didn’t even read it or barely commented?

Have you ever been so proud of something you made that when you realized your closest friends and family didn’t care about it, your hopes were crushed?

Worst of all, have you ever discarded or negated your own work because the people who love you didn’t seem to think it was that great?

Have you asked yourself whether your work is good enough for the world, considering that it doesn’t hold that much value to the people who value you?

Have you assumed that if those who value you don’t value your work, your work must not be that valuable?

If you are picking up what I am putting down, you are not alone. And if you are discounting your work because people around you don’t see its value, I implore you to consider that you are making a grave mistake.

In order to be a creator of anything — rather than someone who gets paid to help others create their thing — you must completely and absolutely accept that the people closest to you will generally not care much for your work.

Your friends will hate.

Your family will whisper doubt.

People will tell you to “get a real job”, and the people that love you the most will likely take the least interest in your work.

Do not be discouraged.

This is true for everyone, with the possible exception of a few anomalies. It does not mean your idea is bad, your work is bad, or you have bad people in your life. It is just the way it is.

Why? Well, I have been asking myself the same question for years and I have many plausible answers, but none that are yet worthy of an essay.

In the end, it doesn’t matter why. Why doesn’t change anything.

What matters is that you don’t wait until the people you know admire your work or co-sign your idea to share your work with the world. If you wait for them, you may be waiting forever.

If you are still not convinced that your work is worthy enough to be shared with the world, ask yourself this — what if Van Gogh never painted the world?

Written by Holly Kellums

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Originally published on Medium.com

Featured image by oculo