Always seeking only the 'correct' photograph

Is this a side effect of living in the present?
Has it existed since ancient times?
Is it a basic specification of Homo sapiens?

I suddenly realized this while shooting my own work.

Shooting one's own work is, as the words imply, taking photos of your own creations. Creating. It is one form of expressive activity, and also a foreshadowing to connect to the next job.

In other words, since there is no client, I can shoot freely.

That means there is no clear answer, right? If I dare to put it into words, the answer exists only within myself.

But I don't know if that is the 'correct' answer.

There is the question of where to place the definition of a 'correct answer,' but if there is a clear client, the 'photograph the client is looking for' is the correct answer.

But for my own work, there is no correct answer or anything of the sort. No, to be precise, it's not that there isn't one. But where can I find satisfaction... where can I find conviction?

Without knowing where that line is, I end up seeking easy-to-understand 'correct answers' like 'Instagrammability' or 'validation'.

This is painful.

Will the photos I'm taking now lead to work? Will they sell as art? Is there demand for them?

Photos that lead to work or sell = correct answer

I can define it that way, but that is just one result, and I don't know it while I'm actually shooting. Even though I don't know, I go seeking the correct answer.

Because I don't know, I end up landing on 'pretty photos'.

My own ideology, philosophy, and thoughts are missing from that, and there is nothing left but evaluation from others.Perhaps that is why it is painful. That is what I find myself thinking.

This phenomenon isn't limited to photography; I feel it even when writing articles for note.

Who is going to read this article? If I can't provide a 100% answer to what everyone is looking for, isn't it meaningless? Was choosing to spend this time writing the article a mistake?

That's the kind of thing I end up thinking.

It's not just about photos or note. I realize it affects various other things in my daily life as well.

Like when I'm looking at art. Especially contemporary art. Even though there are many works created without any specific meaning, I find myself trying to find the artist's intent—the 'correct' answer.

That's probably not it.
There's no need to look for answers. I realize I want to value what I feel and what I think more than that.

I suffer from always seeking the 'correct' answer.

Have you ever had an experience like that?