Why Your Identity as Creatives and Brand Strategists Matter
How would you feel if your client felt unhappy about your work?
There are days in the life of a creative professional when everything seems to align perfectly. You feel inspired every day and ideas seem to flow effortlessly. And on top of that, the end results are ones that you are incredibly proud of—like masterpieces!
But.. there are also days when despite your best efforts, things don't quite come together.
You miss the deadlines, your clients don’t feel connected with the result, your team members aren’t motivated to give their best, and your to-do-list is all over the place… it just feels like everything is missing the mark. It sucks to know that you’re disappointing someone who has trusted you, that you’re letting yourself down.
Are you even cut out to be here in the first place?
‘Am I good enough?’
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there before.
It’s this deep unsettling feeling where I wonder if I’m even allowed to call myself a creative because it feels like I’m not even close to fulfilling half the standards that I should be fulfilling.
The case of evaluating the effectiveness of a creative deliverable and strategic thinking process in helping your clients reach their goal have now become an evaluation of your own self-worth.
What a big jump—from an objective professional success metric to a personal reflection of your own identity. One that perhaps should never happen to begin with, but almost too often automatic.
As creatives, we know that our work is deeply personal (maybe not all of our work, but at least some).
You can’t deny that there are some things you’ve put out there in the wild that reflects something deeper than just the adjectives you’d put together on a brand attributes page.
If the project means something to you, you’d give your all—that’s just the nature of true creatives. And because you pour your hearts and souls into your craft, it can get really difficult to separate your sense of self from the outcome of your work.
You tend to internalize both praise and criticism, allowing them to shape our identity. Instead of rooting your identity on things that actually matter, the essence of who you are becomes intertwined with the unpredictable nature of external validation.
The truth is, you are not your work.
Who you are and what you’re worth aren’t dependent on your work.
Of course what you create and what you’re able to accomplish has everything to do with the quality of your process and ability to execute and deliver. But think again…these things are not the same with your identity. And while your confidence and self-esteem affects how you lead and execute in your work, the mistakes and failures you do don’t have to define who you are moving forward.
You are not defined by your work alone.
Your performance don’t make up the sum of what makes you, YOU.
You are bigger than what you can’t or cannot produce. As a created being, your identity is determined by something greater than external circumstances and remains unshaken whatever happens.
What’s at the core of your identity?
Honestly, I don’t think it matters whether you identify as a creative or not because this question remains one of the most important questions you can ask yourself as a human being. What’s at the core of your identity?
For me, I believe that there is God who loves me and created me for a life of purpose, and I place my identity in that love. It’s the kind of love that isn’t based on my creative work, personal accolades, or life situations. And it’s this love that keeps me rooted through the different circumstances I have to face in my journey as a creative entrepreneur.
The lens in which you see yourself and what your future holds are so valuable to the point that it cannot be based on something futile. If that core can be moved or changed over time, then perhaps it’s not a strong enough foundation, because truth is something that’s meant to be unchanging and able to withstand the test of time and circumstances.
You have the power to shape the world around you through what you do
You matter.
How you show up matter.
What you say and do matter, because what you do can change someone’s life.
When you’re stuck in a comparison trap and the constraints of constantly seeking approval, you risk losing your voice and the impact you can bring by showing up as who you really are. But when your identity is rooted in the truth, you find a sense of security and belonging that empowers you to take risks, explore new things, and embrace your journey of growth and self-discovery.
I hope you never take this power for granted as a creative—that you can create works that move people’s hearts. That you can be a light, shape the world through what you do and make people’s lives better.
