The Myth of The Muse

Everyone has a creative side. The desire for creation burns bright among us humans.

Maybe it is a book you always wanted to write, a singing career that you wanted to pursue, a cooking YouTube channel you wish you could start, or a movie that you always wanted to direct.

Those who have kept the dream alive for a long time wish they just had the time or money to fully dedicate themselves to their craft.

Then, it becomes easy to assume that when we finally have the material security to “do what we love,” and escape the drudgery of the 9 to 5, the muse will bless us with her presence and the words or paint will flow with ease.

We will then undoubtedly create that great work of art that will cement our legacy. We will finally publish that one transformative work that gets us recognition and respect.

However, this assumption is exactly where an insidious trap begins to ensnare you.

If all your needs are met, which means that you have all the money and free time in the world to do what you choose, why would you spend that time and money creating art?

There can only be one of two answers here. Your motivation can either be internal or external.

Internal motivations for creating art can be anything from enjoying the time spent creating, creating to achieve a personal goal, creating to document some sort of history, or creating just to find out whether an intriguing idea can work.

Having internal motivation is the best indicator that you will see a piece of work through to the finish line.

External motivations, however, are finicky.

They can be anything from wanting fame, money, or the approval of someone you care about. Your reason for creating, then, comes from outside and, as psychologists say, is outside of your locus of control.

When your reason for creating, the core motivation that gets you up in the morning and in front of the computer or canvas or camera or mic, is external, you open yourself up to a world of psychological roadblocks that can stop your progress dead in its tracks at any given moment.

I fell for this too. I used to believe that once I found the time, all the chaotic elements of my creations would magically fall into place.

Before I talk about why, I would like to say that I’m not preaching from a high horse. I started making games and writing books to make money, and my blogging journey on Medium is also an attempt to get a side income going. I’ve been through all the problems that I’m going to highlight now and just want to warn people to be aware of what they are in for.

It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint

First, it is hard to stick to your schedule if you aren’t making progress as fast as you want.

When first walking down the long road of being an artist, sooner or later, many come to realize that they overestimated their knowledge of the craft or underestimated the amount of effort it takes to create outstanding work. The only way to master a craft is through hard work.

So, if it takes too long to string together a meaningful sentence or get the shade of color just right for the painting, it becomes extremely irritating to put in continued efforts with the same enthusiasm. Moreover, as these little hindrances pile up, it becomes heart-crushingly easy to say, “This is not for me,” and just give up.

It takes time and effort to get good at something. If you’re not doing it for the love of the game, there is no way to keep yourself going through the challenges you are going to face.

Judging Yourself by Other People’s Standards

Second, with external motivations, you open yourself up to envy, jealousy, and comparisons.

When all you want to achieve is an external metric, you’re bound to start comparing your progress with that of other people.

It may even start feeling unfair.

Art is subjective. Nobody cares how much time or passion you put into it.

Comedian, a 2019 artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, sold for $6.2 million in November 2024. All it consists of is a banana taped to a wall. While I believe there is merit to the artwork, I don’t believe it is worth that price, and can’t judge anyone who believes that all modern art is some absurd game.

Similarly, in the world of games, and coincidentally bananas too, Banana is a 2024 clicker game that starts by having you click a banana. That is all there is to it. It has over 56,000 reviews as of the time of writing, has a Very Positive overall rating, and has undoubtedly made the creator a huge sum of money. Sure, a number goes up when you click on the banana and there are random skin drops, but do you think that justifies it becoming such a huge sensation on Steam?

External motivations can thus put you down a dangerous slippery slope of valuing art based on how others perceive it and may cause you to mentally devalue your work if it doesn’t get the reception you hoped for.

It is not a good mental space to be in.

The Highs Don’t Feel High Enough

And finally, if you aren’t pursuing art for the love of the medium, every achievement is going to ring hollow.

I have a personal story to back this up. I started making games in 2012 to make money. I loved games, don’t get me wrong, but the primary aim was to make money. I always dreamt of making that big viral hit that would make me millions of dollars.

I was, at the end of the day, not creating for the sake of creation. My motivations were external.

So, when my very first game on Steam in 2018, Russian Roulette One Life, was a massive success, it was bound to be a moment for celebration, right? It had over 150K downloads and a Very Positive overall rating.

Wrong!

Since it was a free-to-play game, I only made about $1000 from it. The money was so not worth it even for a successful free-to-play game that the fact that it had over 150K downloads meant nothing to me. All the reviews that praised the game and the tense experience just washed over me leaving no impact.

This is bound to happen when you are reliant on external success to motivate you to continue creating in a medium.

Closing Words

A lot of people, though not all, have a misguided version of “do what you love” in their heads. Their reasons for pursuing a creative venture are reliant on others acknowledging their talent through words or wallets.

The truth remains that time and money can’t buy love. I would like to add to that by saying they can’t also buy you passion or talent.

So, the next time someone tells you to do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life, keep in mind that it may also mean never having another day of peace in your life.