The 32-year-old singer has confessed to feeling detached from some of his own work at points in his career, likening releasing an album or a single to "sending your kid off to school".
"I think there's a point when you're making something, when it feels so pure to you - a really beautiful moment where it's finished and it's just yours," the pop star told Runner's World.
"Then there's almost a sadness at the handing-over. You have to let it go, like sending your kid off to school, and then it feels somewhat detached from you."
The former One Direction star admitted that it has actually taken him years to make peace with how audiences receive his work.
"Only in the last couple of years have I realised how much of people's responses to it are not necessarily about me at all," he explained.
"I think I'm of less importance. And that can be quite scary, realising that it's not about me, but it can also be really freeing to know actually, my job here is to just remain a person, and to keep recording that."
The Watermelon Sugar hitmaker said that the realisation had fundamentally shifted how he views his role as an artist.
"Rather than me being supposed to deliver the answer and let everyone know what life is about, I think there's freedom in realising that actually my job is to let people watch while I ask the questions. Because questions are more interesting than answers."
Styles has developed a passion for running in recent years, and he enjoys the freedom it affords him.
"I think with people who see me, it's a bit more 'Was that…?' rather than, 'Oh look it's him!' And by that time, you're already gone."
The interview is on the Runner's World UK website.
19°C