1>0

September 9, 2025


There’s a quiet kind of paralysis that seems to be creeping into the creative world lately, especially among artists trying to navigate the unpredictable terrain of social media. It’s no longer just about posting your work and watching it resonate. Organic reach is shrinking, engagement is spotty at best, and the dopamine hits that once kept creators motivated now arrive with a delay, or not at all. It’s easy to start believing that your work doesn’t matter, that no one’s listening, that the effort isn’t worth the return. And in that space, hesitation blooms.

But maybe all of this reluctance, this tight-lipped holding back, isn’t really about the algorithms or the platforms. Maybe it’s about expectancy. The quiet expectation that each post should lead to something. That every share should validate the hours poured into a painting or a song or a sentence. That your art should immediately connect, immediately spread, immediately matter in the eyes of the world. And when that doesn't happen? The silence starts to feel like a verdict.

But here’s something to hold onto: 1 is greater than 0.

It sounds like a cliché until you really sit with it. One post is greater than none. One like is greater than none. One person seeing your work, really seeing it, is more than if you had kept it hidden in your studio, waiting for the perfect conditions to share. We forget that every single person who interacts with what we make is a universe. One share might reach someone who needed it. One post might shift your own mindset. Even when it feels like you're shouting into the void, you're actually doing something deeply important: you're showing up.

And showing up, especially without applause, builds something invaluable. It builds creative resilience. When you post without the promise of instant praise, you’re training a part of yourself that stops depending on external validation. You stop making art for an outcome, and start making it because it’s who you are. You become less afraid. More free. More honest. And the work gets better because of it.

So if you're feeling like it's not worth it, if you're hovering over the “share” button wondering why you should bother, remember that silence doesn’t mean failure. A lack of likes doesn’t mean your art has no value. What matters is that you had the courage to create something and release it into the world, even if the world isn’t clapping yet. Every post, every piece, every tiny act of persistence adds up. One step is always greater than standing still.

Don’t retreat. Don’t wait for perfect conditions or guaranteed results. Make one post. Then maybe make one more. Keep making your art visible, not because you owe it to anyone, but because hiding it guarantees that it’ll never be found.

You never know who that one will be.