When I became a college professor in 2004, one of the courses I was assigned was Introduction to the Arts. It was a basic survey course covering visual art, architecture, music, theatre, and film from a Christian philosophical viewpoint.

The area I knew the least about was architecture. I had always been fascinated by it, but never studied it in-depth. Over the years, as I have learned more about architecture, it has become one of my favorite subjects.

I’m especially drawn to Gothic cathedrals. These medieval works of art represent one of the pinnacles of human ingenuity and creativity. The designers, laborers, and craftsmen worked for decades, in some cases centuries, to complete these massive projects.

My personal favorite is Chartres Cathedral in France. Built from 1194-1260, it’s one of the oldest Gothic cathedrals. Chartres is famous for several iconic features, including its beautiful stained-glass windows, a medieval labyrinth, and a purported relic of the Virgin Mary’s tunic.

Consider the mindset of the artists and craftsmen who built Gothic cathedrals. They worked to build something they knew would outlive them—not only by decades, but by centuries.

That’s a stark contrast to today’s creative world, where we don’t normally think in centuries or decades, or even years. We think in weeks and days, hours and moments.

Today, most of our creative work is designed for quick consumption. We share social media posts that we hope people “like” in the 30 minutes after the upload. We write blog posts that we hope go viral in the days after they are published. We hope our book gets traction in the weeks and months after it’s released. We hope our podcast or video gets downloaded thousands (or millions!) of times.

I’m not saying those things are bad. I engage in all of those mediums, and more. But is there a way to balance the need for relevance and timeliness with a more long-term perspective on our creative work?

The real question is: Will your creative work outlive you? We don’t create just for today. We create for decades from today. So let us create, work, and write with excellence. And with a view to impact not just people today… but many years from now, just as we enjoy the Gothic cathedrals today, many hundreds of years after they were built.

Question: How do you think your writing might impact people decades into the future?