‘Remember Why You Started’ Isn’t For All Creators

Let’s normalize looking forward instead of looking back.

Photo by Windows on Unsplash

I hate the term ‘remember why you started.’ When I started writing online, I was in a very dark place. I was checking my bank account daily, declining invitations from friends, and mostly hoping this dark period of my life would end.

When things don’t work, many so-called gurus of Content Creation use the cliche advice of ‘remember why you started’ as potential motivation to help new creators push forward. And for someone like me, that means remembering one of the most terrifying periods of my life.

No, thank you.

In this article, I want to explore why that doesn’t work and how we can improve.

Some Of Us Started Because of Money

I hate to break it to you, but not all content creators have some spiritual goal behind their content creation journey, and the guru who told you that is wrong.

Some of us want to make some more income. It’s as simple as that.

66% of all US undergraduates in 2015–16 had student debt. The lives of people with medical debt aren’t glamorous either.

Is it surprising that many creators start offering services or making content because they want to make extra income?

What Can We Do Better: Instead of focusing on why we started, let’s focus on our relationships with the people who engage with our content. People buy from people. You can either represent a shop they peruse or a friend they buy from confidently. It’s all based on your level of engagement.

All Creators Evolve — ‘Remember why you started’ is Meaningless

Initially, one of my core values was to offer a stunning visual reading experience to anyone who visits my blog.

I wanted the font to be just right, the spacing to be exact, and for the entire article to look great.

As time went by, I understood it was way more important to invest time in the words I wrote and how they flowed together instead of their presentation on screen.

When you ask me to return to my core values, you ask me to discard my growth.

What Can We Do Better: Instead of “going back” and discarding growth, we creators should learn to research our behavior. It’s way harder — but much more effective.

In other words, ask yourself why something doesn’t work instead of discarding your chosen path and trying something else.

The Question of Consistency and Impatience

Many creators, myself included, are simply impatient.

We want results right here and now. And we can’t have them because that’s not how the world works. And yet, so-called gurus do not ask you how long you have been sticking to your desired path.

When you publish only 5–10 articles on your blog, you can’t expect people to sign up for your email list. When people don’t know when your next blog post will be, you can’t expect them to follow you.

When you publish on social media sporadically and without a plan, you can’t expect to have thousands of followers. It simply doesn’t work like that.

What Can We Do Better: Many creators think that people usually succeed on the internet by becoming overnight successes. Even if the only thing you do is accept that this idea is false, you’re already doing better than most.

But if you do want to do better than “remember why you started,” start with a plan. Think about checking in with yourself after 100 blog posts, or Instagram posts, or YouTube videos. You don’t have enough data to measure your success without enough content.

Stick to consistency and patience and get the content out there. It will do wonders for your journey.

Focus on The Future Not the Past

It’s true that our past mistakes make us who we are. And we can learn a lot from the things we did in the past and how they affected our growth. Our future, however, is always uncertain, and there is only so much you can learn from the past. Stop remembering why you started and stand up after you fall.

More than anything else, keep going forward because it’s the only path you have.

I hope this article gave you some confidence that even if things don’t look as bright as you want them to look, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Once you reach your content goals, you must push through and evaluate your growth.

Good luck, and thanks for reading!