How do you convince yourself songwriting is not a waste of your time?
Despite having very little success, here's how I convince myself songwriting is not a waste of my time, money, or effort:
Time: Time spent creating songs helps bring more peace into the world, especially if you eventually share them. It can also be therapeutic for the songwriter for both resolving personal issues and development as a musician. It takes time to practice one's craft, and anything worthwhile to do takes time. Never adopt the saying "time is money." That is only a part of profit-driven capitalistic culture.
Money: It's so hard for most people to think money is not everything. Unless you're spending lots of money for gear or instruments you don't really need, songwriting need not cost a lot of money. Even recording yourself is not expensive now that your home computer can handle the job. You may need to make an initial modest investment, but after that it's yours. I've also sold recording gear to buy new gear. The one thing songwriting might do is take opportunity away from making money doing something more lucrative. That's something everyone really needs to work out based on your own personal values and situation.
Effort: If you indeed identify yourself as an artist, what better thing to do is there than putting the effort into becoming better at your art or maintaining your skills for a lifetime? Many people fall for the myth that creative and talented people are just born that way. Not true! I've also seen people posting that they are frustrated they've been at it for merely three years or so and don't understand why they're not progressing as they expect. The truth is it takes many years of hard work to hone your craft.
But even the above does not always convince me when I'm feeling low and think I'm wasting my time despite years of development as a songwriter. What do you do to convince yourself you're not wasting your time?