How to Be Autotelic

Okay, so I know I said there are no rules, and really, there aren't, but there are some things that are simply true in my experience. Again, your mileage may vary.

I spoke about this here to some extent, but now I need to get on my soapbox and complain about the world.

And I realize these are first world problems, as I sit in a very nice public library while my tweens attend a tween program, in the middle of America, while the rest of the world is busy being at war, killing people, starving people, committing genocide. But I am also human, and I need to have something that is my own little thing and complaining about how art is (de)valued in this country is my jam, so just bear with me.

Amie McNee, an artist, author and speaker, wrote an AMAZING piece for Writer's Digest in March 2025, "The Case for Creating When the World is on Fire" and she said the following:

"In a world that tries to usurp and monopolize your attention, the only way to get some agency is to become a creator. Creating is an act of rebellion against a world that wants you entirely stuck to your phone...It's taken back what's been stolen from you--your time, your energy, your attention..."

You can also hear McNee speak on the topic here, and it is well worth the 15 minutes it will take.

The world does NOT want you to create, for good reason. There's not necessarily money to be made in spending your time off social media, off the internet, and not selling you things you don't need for problems you don't actually have. The more time you spend on creating something you love, the less advertising dollars there are for those who earn them.

McNee is probably my favorite writer right now. Her whole thing is "making art is activism". She explodes with "your words are powerful forces for shaping people, encouraging empathy, provoking humanity and demanding attention".

You do NOT need to monetize your existence and your creations. Maybe you crochet or knit for enjoyment. Maybe you create lovely blankets and scarves and hats, and you do this because it helps you feel better about yourself and the world and it burns your anxiety. Maybe you give these items as gifts. And at some point, you are going to hear someone gush over how beautiful your creations are (because they most definitely are). And some of those someones are going to suggest that you sell your creations. That you should set up an Etsy site and then everyone in the WORLD can buy your beautiful creations.

And there's nothing wrong with that. You can sell your creations. You get your money. That is fine.

The problem starts when you are constantly expected to monetize your creativity as a complement. Like the best thing you could possibly do with your beautiful creations is sell them. Don't give them away. Set up a table at the farmer's market. People are well meaning and then do mean this as a compliment. And yes, there is probably a need for your creations.

But if creating helps your mental health, and it feels good to just do it, when you make it your job, it can rob you of the joy you get, the encouragement you get, the happiness you get from giving your creations.

The world expects that if you create something, and you get good at it, that the next natural step is to sell it. To make your livelihood from that. And a lot of people do. But YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

Additionally, especially as you grow into an adult (which is a dang trap if you aren't already aware), you realize that you have to have a job in order to live. You need to make money to have a place to live, clothes to wear, food to eat, a way to travel to and from your job and your place to live, and money for existing. So you have to give some of your 24 hours in a day to a job. And you have to give some of your 24 hours in a day to sleep. The average is 8 hours for each (yes, I know that in this day and age that 8 hours for work alone is NOT enough for people to make basic ends met, UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME NOW!, and all that, but for the sake of easier math, this is what I am going with. Please don't cancel me for needing math to be simple.)

So if we do 40 hours a week for work, and you do 8 hours a day for sleep, what do you do with the rest of the time? It gets even more complicated if you have to have more than one job, if you have a hobby or sport that you devote time to, and don't EVEN get me started on having a family or medical needs because this damn post will NEVER end.

So you have 604,800 seconds in a week. Try using some of those seconds to create. If you do some of those seconds consistently enough, you can build a practice.



And that, in the simplest of terms, is how you be autotelic. You take some of the seconds you don't have to use for everything else in life, you use them consistently to be creative, on your own terms.