Here's Why You Need to Create From Your Values

Your values are the foundation of your being and translate into what you do and most importantly your “why” (why you do what you do). You know your creative practice lines up with your values when you create with a sense of purpose. Creating comes consistently and harmoniously. You know that your choices and creative decisions are in alignment with your values. If the opposite is true, there is a feeling of unease with a choice that you make. This could be a signal that there is a mismatch of your choice with your value system. In this post I am going to share with you why you need to create from your values.

Where have they shown up in your life?

Think about your creative practice. What drew you to it? Did it come from something you grew up with or were taught? The messaging about our chosen creative practice shapes our immersion in it as well.

Many times, we start a project or a job for what can seem to be the right reason but then after a time we may feel regret or disappointment. So why is it that we have good intentions but then feel conflicted?

We may have been listening to the voices of others’ which led to life decisions. Of course this is most common in our younger years when we are faced with the pressures of school, parents and society. But as we age and mature, we need to ask ourselves if our decisions are made for others or are they in line with who we are and created to be.

Why are they important?

Everything that you create must have one or more of your core values backing it. If what you are doing cannot be backed by any of your values, then you need to consider why you are doing it. Take a look at the value page below to pinpoint your values as ask yourself the questions in this post.

Your Why Determines the Audience Your Serve

When you think of the purpose of your creative endeavor or practice, you always need to ask, “who am I serving?” Often you are serving a niche that has experienced what you have, and you now are at the place of finding a solution. For some creatives “finding a solution to a problem” is not a concern in their creativity, but you need to know if that is part of your purpose.

Our discovery of who we are going to serve comes not only from our values but also from our personality and our gifting. Is your creative endeavor something that you are willing to invest your time and money in long term?

Knowing and applying your value system as a creative are key, but do you struggle with self criticism and doubt about your work? Do you want to learn about how to crush your inner critic and become confident so that you can share your work with the world? Don’t let any more time go by, get a start right now on recognizing your inner critic with this FREE step by step guide called, “How to Make Over Your Inner Critic: Recognize Fear & Step Into Confidence”

Discovering Your Why

What could you talk about endlessly?

Is this something you cannot wait to get to in the morning? In other words, is it a passion of yours? Because if you just have money as your end goal, you will fizzle out and stop doing what you are doing.

Your why is the glue that holds your creative practice together. There is a progression of discovering your why for your artistic practice. Each point builds on the last. Your journey starts with core values, moves into what kind of offering you are sharing, who you serve and (potentially) what problem you are solving. Without this “glue” your art practice may become simply a “to do” list with no purpose.

Every time you take on a new task or project, ask yourself if it serves your why. If it does not relate to why you are doing what you are doing, then this creative progress won’t last.

Vocalizing & Visualizing

We have already learned the importance of vocalizing our affirmations, in my recent post “How to Create Your Signature Affirmations”, so you already understand why vocalizing is important. Vocalizing our why impresses upon our practice the importance of why we are doing what we are doing. It can be likened to a verbal contract between our beliefs and actions.

Accountability increases the likelihood of leaning into our why. We are held responsible for these creative practices if we share them with others and ask for encouragement.

Even though I share a lot of information, freebies and tutorials, I held back for years sharing my creative work because I struggled with criticism (from myself and others). As creatives, you and I can be held back due to negative thinking. It might look like comparing your ability to others or not having the confidence to pursue your creative talent or putting your creations out into the world.

Is that you? Have you ever found it difficult to cope with imposter syndrome, your inner critic, fear of failure, perfectionistic tendencies, and being hesitant to share your work?

If your answer is yes, I have a Free resource for you. It’s just a click away!

Vision Board

The development of a vision board is a tool to assist you towards accomplishing your goal. It is the alignment of our values and our creative action. Your Vision board is a collection of mini stories that make up the story of your creative dream. Each component is a motivation, a nudge, and a representation of you tangibly holding your dream out in front of you.

This collage represents your heart on display. It is likened to an affirmation; positive, short present tense statements (snapshots) of what you are believing and becoming. It is the “now” introducing itself to the “future”.

When Should You Evaluate Your Value System?

With each new creative project, it is important to assess whether it lines up with your values and your creative why. Doing this preliminary and ongoing work will help your action line up with your beliefs.

Why is it important to build your creative practice on your value system?

You want to show up to the world as authentic as you can be. Remember, your audience craves authenticity.

If you don’t understand your value system and lean into your why, your creative practice will be inconsistent, scattered, feel irrelevant and lacking purpose. When this occurs, it is easy to hold back from showing up and sharing your work.

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