Choosing Your Struggles: A Creative’s Guide to Success

Everybody wants to live the dream: creating art that inspires, earning respect and recognition, and living a life of passion and purpose. It’s easy to say, “I want to be successful,” or “I want to make a living doing what I love.” But the real question isn’t about what you want—it’s about what you’re willing to struggle for.

The Pain of Pursuing Creativity

Every creative pursuit comes with challenges. As a musician, it might be the hours spent practicing scales or the sting of rejection when a song doesn’t land. As a visual artist, it could be the frustration of refining your skills or the vulnerability of putting your work into the world.

Success in the arts isn’t determined by the rewards you crave but by the pain you’re willing to endure along the way. Do you enjoy the late nights perfecting your craft? Can you handle the emotional turbulence of critique and rejection? These struggles aren’t obstacles—they’re the path.

Are You in Love with the Process?

It’s easy to romanticize the results: standing ovations, sold-out galleries, or streams of adoring fans. But the reality is that success requires falling in love with the grind.

• The musician who thrives is the one who embraces hours of rehearsal, broken strings, and lugging equipment to small gigs.

• The artist who grows is the one who finds joy in sketching tirelessly, experimenting with new techniques, and facing the frustration of starting over.

• The writer who succeeds is the one who rewrites, edits, and lives in the discomfort of staring at a blank page.

If you’re only in love with the dream, you may never get there.

Your Struggles Define You

Happiness requires struggle. The quality of your creative life isn’t about the rewards you seek but about the challenges you’re willing to face to get there. It’s not about grit or willpower; it’s about finding meaning in the process, even when it’s hard.

• Are you willing to play to a near-empty room while building an audience?

• Are you ready to weather creative blocks and failed projects?

• Can you keep going when progress feels painfully slow?

The struggles you choose shape the artist you become.

Choose Your Pain Wisely

Ask yourself: What pain am I willing to sustain for my creative dreams? This question is far more revealing than asking what you want to achieve. It clarifies not just your desires but your capacity to grow, persist, and thrive.

Success isn’t about wanting the rewards—it’s about committing to the process, no matter how difficult it gets. Choose your struggles wisely, and you’ll find the meaning and growth that make your creative journey worthwhile.

This post was inspired by Mark Manson’s insightful writing in "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck." His perspective encourages creatives to focus not just on the dream but on the process that leads there.*

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