Find Peace in Being Misunderstood
Why Expression Matters More Than Approval
We all crave being known. I believe much of the drive to create comes from the hope that people will see, understand, and validate us. Art is expression, but in today’s social media-driven world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing the algorithm.
As someone who has battled depression for much of my adult life, I often find that my darkest moments come from the emptiness of creating for others’ validation instead of my own. Recently, I came across a quote that stuck with me:
“The opposite of depression isn’t happiness. It’s expression.”
Creating for likes, clicks, and reshares isn’t true expression—it’s pandering. And I realize the irony of this coming from someone who spent most of his twenties in the thick of the internet’s clickbait culture. If you want to work professionally as a creative today, you almost have to play the content game.
But you don’t have to.
There’s a world where you can unplug, recenter, and create for yourself. We consume so much content daily—maybe it’s time for a break.
When you step away from the pressure to post daily and follow trends, you’ll find a sense of peace. And yes, you may also feel misunderstood.
Most people won’t understand your journey as a creative. They’ll only see the final product. That’s okay. The final product is for them—the process is for you.
I can’t count how many times I’ve rolled my eyes at Facebook memes saying, “Trust the process.” But there’s a reason it resonates: it’s true.
There’s freedom in committing to the full process—the ups, the downs, and everything in between. Once you release a project into the world, it’s no longer yours. It belongs to the audience. They’ll interpret and decide what it is. That’s why you must live in the process, not rush through it. The process is yours alone.
Find peace in that. Find peace in expressing yourself authentically, even if it goes against the grain. Find peace in being misunderstood.
And believe me, I’m trying to take my own advice here. I’m still a content creator posting daily. This post will go on Substack, I’ll make a graphic and share it, and I’ll monitor the likes, reshares, and comments. Oh, and by the way, I’m also promoting our new podcast.
Baby steps.
Keep creating and repeating,
- Zack
P.S. We started The Create.Repeat Podcast to help creatives feel less alone.
Half of the episodes feature conversations between me and my co-founder/wife, Morgan, while the rest are interviews with up-and-coming creatives, diving into the ups and downs of the creative process. We’d love it if you gave it a listen and watch. And hey, if you enjoy it, feel free to subscribe, like, comment—the whole thing! New episodes every Monday.
Links keeping us creative:
💭 Make Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s 2012 Commencement Speech. “If you have an idea of what you want to make, what you were put here to do, then just go and do that.”
💻 Site of sites: Website design inspiration categorized by Industry, Type, Style, and Platform.
📔 Is There Such A Thing As Good Taste?: A fascinating essay that explores the concept of "taste" and questions whether one's taste can truly be considered "good."
🚪 Liminal Creativity: An essay by Anne-Laure Le Cunff on creativity in the liminal spaces of life and how periods of transition and uncertainty can unlock innovative thinking.
Create.Repeat is a community for creatives.
The Create.Repeat Substack is a project designed to be a weekly diary on creativity. Sharing inspiration for artists to keep creating and repeating.
Written and curated by Zack Evans & James Warren Taylor
Each week we will be sharing recent thoughts on creativity, some links helping us stay creative, and soon will be including a talent show featuring an artist from the community. Thank you for engaging with us.
History repeats. Create the future.
Some Final Links:
Check Out The Podcast - First Episode Out Now! 🔄
great insight thanks - love that quote 🙏
For the creator, the end is the process