“People are too busy putting things under microscopes and so forth. Creativity is greater than the sum of its parts.”

– Maya Angelou

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Have you ever struggled with separating your identity from your output? I’ve been on a long journey of detaching myself from what I create–whether I’m making art or making mistakes. 

Equating our value with our productivity (or lack thereof) can be detrimental to the good work we seek to do each day. I value this subject so much that I dedicated an entire meditation to it in A Heart on Fire, and I’m sharing it with you in this newsletter today in case you could use the reminder that you are more than your accomplishments, failures, or unmet expectations. I hope it encourages you!

For those of us who seek to live a meaningful life, it’s easy to fall into the trap of defining ourselves by the works of our hands. Crafting a life of purpose and intention often blurs the distinction between who we are and what we do.

If we’re not careful, the gray area can lead to an internalization of failure, a lack of rest, and a deep-seated feeling of never doing—or being—enough. 

The maker must develop a healthy sense of detachment from what is made—not in a way that leads you to churn out works devoid of life and meaning, but in a way that prevents you from tying up your identity with those works. An article not getting many views online does not make the author unworthy or unseen. A missed note in a musical performance does not make the musician incapable.

When your identity is tied up in what you produce, criticism can feel like a blow to the chest. Every failure felt to the core; every mistake a mark on your character. Rest evades you, even when you’re on the brink of burnout, because a pause in production feels like a pause in life’s meaning. You’re unable to see your worth separate from your work.

Maintain a healthy space between your creations and your core, but let your core continue to inform your creations. You can hold them close without keeping them tethered to your identity. In this new relationship, you won’t be swept away with praise or smothered by critique, feeling the weight of both but being defined by neither.

You are free to create for the sake of expressing yourself—no strings attached.