We are driven to share, to connect, to communicate our thoughts and emotions to our fellow humans. We want to be able to say to ourselves, “My voice was heard. My vote was counted. My life mattered.”

We are driven to seek out the acknowledgment of others, to leave our mark on the world and have our experiences count for something. We keep journals and diaries, write letters and books to capture the richness of our expression and the quality of our imagination. Even those who choose solitude record their experiences for posterity, for whoever might come across their ideas and findings, for the purpose of making an impact even after they’re gone.

The ability to connect defines us, molds us, validates our standing as members of society. We invariably seek an audience to assure us of our worth, our appeal, and our desirablility. It is the ability to communicate our deepest thoughts and desires through words and gestures that drives us to do so over and over again, to form lasting bonds with our inner circle and even, to some extent, the world at large.

When we connect, we share. When we share, we create. We bring into being new ways of thinking and living. Our interactions spark ideas: some mundane, some profound, all of them necessary to nourish the creative process so we can reap its fruits and benefits.

The urge to connect is ultimately the urge to create something bigger than ourselves, something that changes the fabric of our world and leaves the stamp of our imagination on it. We want to be able to marvel, “I did that. I did that. I took my idea and ran with it. I took a chance and I wasn’t afraid.” We want to be remembered because we mattered, because we influenced, because we changed something.

Even when you share with no one but yourself, you open up a connection with your spirit that creates something worth sharing with someone else.

So loosen up. Listen to the voice of your intuition. Step off the cliff of “What if I can’t?” because you do have the wings to show you that “Yes, you can.” You can.