You Don’t Have to Monetize Your Magic

A love letter to creatives and caregivers who feel pressure to turn every talent into a side hustle.

Today I ask myself; 

What is the difference between passion and productivity?

What does encouragement to protect sacred, private parts of my creativity look like?

When do we realize we’re doing something not for recognition or money, but simply because it moves us? Because it makes us feel alive.

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that we had to earn the right to enjoy that magic. That if we were good at something.. If we had a “gift”, that we were supposed to share it, sell it, brand it, package it, or at the very least turn it into a side hustle. That joy alone wasn’t enough.

I’ve wrestled with that belief myself.

I started photography because it brought me joy. I loved catching the light as it hit someone’s face just right, capturing the quiet between moments, telling a story without needing words. But when photography became my business, something shifted. The love was still there, but it got tangled with invoices, edits, marketing, and the unspoken pressure to always create something “worth paying for.” I felt like I owed the world a return on my creativity.

Over time, I noticed I was burning out. Not because I didn’t love what I did, but because it felt like I had to constantly produce. I wasn’t just an artist anymore, I was a brand. And while I was proud of the work, I started to miss the freedom that first drew me to the lens.

That’s when I started bringing my camera with me on hikes again, not as a tool, but as a companion. If something moved me, I’d take the photo. If not, I’d leave the camera in my bag. There was no pressure, no product, just me and the moment. And in doing that, I remembered why I started. I found my joy again.

The Culture of Monetizing Everything

We live in a culture that tells us everything must be optimized. Your hobbies? Start a shop. Your poems? Publish a book. Your dance videos? Build a following. And for some, that path is deeply empowering. There’s nothing wrong with sharing your gifts with the world, especially when it’s on your terms. But when it becomes an expectation, or a measurement of your worth, it can quietly steal the magic from the things that were meant to heal you.

Not everything needs to be productive to be valuable.

Some things are meant to be just yours.

Your Gifts Are Still Valid, Even in Private

I want to say this clearly: your gift is not wasted just because you’re not selling it. Your art is not less real because it lives in a journal. Your voice is not any quieter just because it hasn’t gone viral. You were given something beautiful, and that beauty still exists even if no one else sees it.

Your gift is still sacred even when it’s kept private.

And in many ways, that intimacy with your gift, your ability to nurture it in silence, is one of the most powerful forms of self-love.

I think of my mornings spent hiking: waking before the sun rises, sitting by the lake in stillness, writing and stretching and doing yoga as the light begins to pour in. I cross rivers and climb trails, I eat lunch under the sun and nap in the quiet. These moments are not for anyone else. They don’t serve a brand. They’re not content. They’re sacred.

The same goes for my time on aerial silks. Moving with my body, feeling strong and angelic at once.. it’s healing. Not for an audience. Not for applause. But for me.

And that’s enough.

When Passion Becomes Pressure

When we feel like we “owe” our gifts to the world, we can quickly fall into resentment, anxiety, or even guilt. We might start overthinking everything we create. We may avoid creating altogether because we feel we can’t live up to the expectations we or others have placed on us. That creative block? That’s often just our inner self saying, “I want to make again, but I want to feel free when I do it.”

Burnout doesn’t always come from doing too much. Sometimes it comes from doing what we love under too much pressure.

That’s why it’s essential to return to joy. To the root. To the love.

Sometimes that means creating just for the sake of it. Sometimes that means taking a break. Sometimes it means going off-grid and letting your gift live in the wild again, unmarketed, unbranded, unbothered.

For me, that often looks like spontaneous shoots with friends or catching something beautiful when I’m out and about, not because I’m on a job, but because my spirit feels called to pause and capture the moment.

That’s the kind of creating that breathes life back into my soul.

I know how it feels to wonder if you’re “doing enough” with your talents. If you’re letting your potential slip away. But I want to offer a different perspective.

Yes, you were given a gift.

But it is your gift.

It’s yours to hold, to nurture, to protect. It’s not a debt to be repaid. It’s not a performance to be constantly evaluated. It’s not a product. It’s a part of you. And you don’t need to prove its worth by turning it into income.

Enjoy it. Embrace it. Keep it sacred. You’re allowed to have something that’s just for you.

And when or if the time ever feels right to share it more widely, you’ll know. But let that come from alignment, not obligation.

Reclaiming Joy, Redefining Value

In a world that constantly asks for more—more output, more content, more visibility—it is an act of quiet rebellion to say, “This is enough. I am enough.” To choose joy over profit. Presence over performance. Sacred over seen.

Your magic matters. Even in silence.

Especially in silence.

So, take the hike. Paint for no reason. Sing in the shower. Dance in your kitchen. Capture the moment just for you. Return to your gift without the weight of expectation. Let it be what it was always meant to be...healing, joyful, free.

You don’t have to monetize your magic.

Sometimes, the magic is in the not.