What is your "Why"?

There are a lot of reasons that we do things, which is kind of a duh, right?

One of the things that has a myriad of reasons behind why we do the thing is starting an account on social media, especially when it is a non-personal account. I mean, creating an account on Facebook usually means that you want to re-connect with people you've not heard from in a long time or keep up with friends and family who don't live nearby. But creating an account on Instagram, or starting a YouTube channel, or creating a blog usually has a deeper reason. For some, the one and only reason that they create an Instagram account or YouTube channel is to gather followers like eggs from a hen house. These folks do all of the "grow your Instagram account to 10K followers" tricks and don't care if the accounts that follow them are actually real people or not.

Then there are those of us who have a myriad of other reasons for creating an account.

I will be honest (because what would the point be, otherwise) that, when I started my Instagram account, I was interested in growing my audience and that, when my follower count has decreased, I did kind of take it personally. But not because I was worried about how many people do or don't follow me, but because I have been genuinely upset that I was not giving people content to which they can relate.

Then I started creating genuine connections with some of the people with whom I have interacted.

I started interacting with people as, well, people.

So I started thinking about my real "why".

Why I started my Instagram account doesn't necessarily have to be why I continue to use it.

So, what is my why now?

Truthfully, my why now is not that dissimilar from why I started the account. I want to share my creativity with the world (even if the world I share it with is small). I may not have all of the MAMBI stickers ever sold, but that doesn't mean that I can't still share as beautiful and functional a planner as anyone else. Because, really, if my planner isn't functional with the décor that this line of planners is known for, I really should go back to using a Day Timer. LOL

But my Instagram account isn't just about my planners.

My Instagram account is about all of my creativity: my acrylic pour art, my acrylic painting, my chainmaille jewelry. My Instagram account is about my running and my training.

My Instagram account is about me. About my authentic self. About helping other people discover their authentic selves and creativity.

And, so, my goal going forward is to not try to be anyone else with what I share. My goal is to not try to be someone I'm not. If I were to try to be someone else or someone I'm not then I can't be authentic, now can I?

So, for anyone struggling with the number of followers they do or do not have, don't. The number of followers you have (whether you have 10 or 10,000) does not define you and your worth as an artist. It does not define you and your worth as a person. Only you can do that.

Go forth and create and then tell me about it! I'd love to share in your process. At the same time, if you have a social media account, really think about your "why". It's a hard process, but it's definitely a worthwhile one.