It’s tough to be selfish.
To put ourselves and our needs first. And this is particularly true for women; we waste far too much of our precious lives waiting for someone to tell us it’s okay to want. Learn to be that someone for yourself. Practice with the small things, the pick-up-and-put-down creativity projects that don’t feel as though they have your soul at the heart of them. Then get bolder, get braver. Say what it is you really want to do, or write it, or sing it, but get used to the feel of holding the desire close. Of nurturing it. That’s all it takes to give yourself permission; the rest – the time, the space, materials or whatever – will follow. You will find ways of making sure they do. If you want to enough. Trust me.
If it helps give you a kick-start, imagine all the anecdotes Toni Morrison didn’t get to read because the nod was never given or the question never asked. If it matters to you to do something with your creative energy, it matters. Don’t wait to find out if it matters to someone else.