When did being creative become a lost art?

MySpace me would be so confused right now

In the chaos that is social media, it’s like creativity became a chore.

Something we must do to get shmoney. To make a living.

What happened to the freedom we felt on MySpace, Tumblr, and YouTube? I remember when high school me would recap my days, film me and my friends at shows, swimming, or games, and edit them. I loved creating on YouTube and wondered how cool it would have been had I continued with my vlogging/podcast type stuff I created then.

Earlier this week, I was talking to my bestie about the longing I feel to create and return to YouTube. To repurpose clips from there and to write on Substack and LinkedIn.

I was telling her about my reason for being and creating. That I want creating to feel fun again. Not like a chore. I want to express myself and help people.

Creating content about my services? Sure. But I also want to inject the FUN back in it. I just wanna create, to be expressive, to be expansive…

As I shared my aching with her, she expressed “I want to feel comfortable in it - I think I’m so focused on that it needs to lead to a conversion that it feels like chore”

That’s a lot of advice we get from business “gurus”. But we aren’t usually shown how to build in a way that feels fun.

I talk about the ugly side of hustle culture a lot. And that’s because we have been conditioned to be in “go mode” - to be “always on”.

And this is something we have to unlearn.

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Here’s what I’m doing about it:

I’m going back to my inner child. The one who created because it was joyful. Who filmed random moments with friends, not because it would “convert” but because she wanted to capture life. Who wrote because she had something to say, not because there was a posting schedule demanding it.

I’m asking her: What would make creating fun again?

And you know what she told me? She wants to play. She wants to experiment. She wants to make things that light her up, even if they don’t fit the “content strategy.”

Here’s what I’m learning: When creating feels like a chore, it’s usually not about the creating.

It’s about the capacity you don’t have because you said yes to eleven things that weren’t aligned. It’s about the boundaries you can’t maintain because you’re afraid of disappointing people. It’s about the multi-passionate nature you’re trying to “fix” instead of integrate. It’s about building a business around what you think success should look like instead of what actually energizes you.

The creative joy is just the warning sign. The first thing that goes quiet when everything else is out of alignment.

And maybe you’re feeling that right now.

Maybe you want to post something just because it excites you, not because it’s “on strategy.” Maybe you want to work on that passion project without guilt about it not being “productive.” Maybe you want to say no to opportunities that look good on paper but drain your soul. Maybe you want to build something that feels as good as it looks from the outside.

That desire? That longing for something different? That’s not weakness. That’s wisdom.

Your creative joy is trying to tell you something’s off. Your capacity is asking for attention. Your authentic self is refusing to stay buried under “best practices” any longer.

And for me personally? I’ve been doing this work. I’ve recalibrated my business, gotten back to the joy and fun in how I build. As a result, my business lights me up in ways it didn’t before.

But now? I need to do more of this work around my creative joy specifically. I’m going back to the drawing board. Experimenting with ways to make sure my creative expression is on point too - not just my business strategy, but the actual creating. I don’t have all the answers yet about what that looks like - no promises about YouTube or podcasting again or what platform or format.

But I do have a promise: I’m committed to figuring it out. To honoring that inner child who just wanted to create because it was joyful. To tapping into and protecting that creative spark the same way I’ve learned to protect my capacity.

Because if I’m going to keep guiding people to reconnect with their joy and feel confident AF in their path, I need to keep doing this work too.

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The unlearning looks like this:

Pause. Get quiet. Ask yourself:

When was the last time I created something just because I wanted to?

What would teenage me - the one who wasn’t worried about conversions or algorithms - make right now?

What’s my original why? The reason I started this before it became about the numbers?

These aren’t fluffy questions. They’re the foundation of building something sustainable. Something that doesn’t require you to recover from your own success.

You have permission to reconnect with the joy. To create content that lights you up even if it doesn’t “fit the strategy.” To build your business and brand around what actually energizes you instead of what you think you’re supposed to do.

The lost art of being creative? It’s not actually lost.

It’s just been buried under “best practices” and “content strategies” and “what works.”

Time to dig it back up.

Keep flowing,
Crystal

P.S. What would your inner creator make if no one was watching and nothing had to convert? Go ask them. I bet they have some ideas. 💜

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Follow me for more on redefining how we live, work + create:
Instagram: @crystalchittick.co
LinkedIn: Crystal Chittick