How do you usually spend your day?
You wake up on a weekday, annoyed at the alarm clock for reminding you once again to go to work. Phone in hand, you take a quick glance at social media to get the freshest news. After a quick breakfast, you prepare your things and head to work. To maximize your time commuting, you listen to your favorite podcast while in your car.
As the day winds down, you clock out of work and go back home. You finished the podcast that you listened to earlier in the morning while stuck in traffic. Tired, but home at last, you watch the news on YouTube. Then you binge on your favorite channels/streamers the rest of the night. Unlike many, you only watch and listen to content that either enhances your knowledge or to increase your productivity. “I learned a lot today!”, you say to yourself as it is almost time for bed.
Sounds like a good day, isn’t it? Perhaps, but if you want to have a more fulfilling life, and to live rather than just exist, then remember this:
Create something, don’t just consume.
“But I have a full-time job! I am already creating something in my work!“
Fair point, but realize that although you created something through your job, this creation, this product, is for the benefit of the company, not yours. In fact, the reason why you are being paid a salary is to create something for others. You are trading your time for money.
Perhaps we need to make it clearer:
Create something for yourself, don’t just consume.
Create for yourself
When I started this blog, I only intended it to be a personal journal. A repository of lessons and information I gathered through the years. I had a vague idea about SEO, how you can market your content through social media, etc., but I didn’t bother. It’s fine if no one reads this stuff. I don’t mind putting out my thoughts into the abyss.
After many years of writing something each month, I eventually realized that there were others who are benefiting from my efforts. And while it was not the original intention, it was a pleasant surprise. Some of my articles were used as a resource in other technical articles. One even became a Featured Snippet in Google!
While I am a long way before I consider myself a good writer, it certainly feels that I am improving a little every time I attempt to put my thoughts into words. And in addition to helping some people through my experiences, there were also other benefits to creating something for myself. I became a better communicator, both in written and spoken English, and that helped me a lot at my career.
But what if you don’t want to write? How do you create something for yourself then?
Creation is not limited to a specific medium. There are many ways on how you can produce something, be it physically, conceptually, or socially.
For example, you can learn how to play a musical instrument. Even if you can’t or won’t be able to compose your own song, you are still creating melody out of a physical tool. Music that comes out of your instrument soothes your own soul, and perhaps others as well if you keep at it.
Being the best parent you can be is also a form of creation. More than creating a new human by giving birth, your actions as a parent is more important. You can greatly influence your child and thus, you create a small part of the future of humanity.
We are built to create
This is why people, especially those who are working in the knowledge sector or in front of their computers, are drawn towards manual labor. Software engineers try out carpentry and love it. Teachers become farmers. I worked with a database architect who retired towards husbandry. There is something natural, something pure, when you build something using your own hands.
Humans are built to work and to create. A society that values consumption over creation is guaranteed to collapse. Nowadays we take for granted the system of goods and services that make our lives convenient and comfortable. If you dig deep though, you will find that society rests on people who create. We rely on farmers, on masons, on architects, on engineers, on artisans.
Not everyone needs to do these things though. We all play a role in society. But if you find yourself just consuming what others make, maybe it is time to tap into your innate creator.
No one cares!
One common impediment to people trying to create is that we are afraid to mess up. We don’t like when others look at our creation and criticize it. But we need to remember that we are creating something for ourselves and not for others.
Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. We have all been taught that if you want something, you strive to be the best at it. What they failed to mention is, no one starts out as the best (or even good) at something. If you want to achieve anything, you must also be prepared to suck at it.
Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.
It is alright if you can’t get that tune right the first time. Or maybe even after practicing for years. Screw that! I’ll just play another song that doesn’t use that chord. Don’t let one little disappointment poison the entire bucket of your efforts.
Perfection is the enemy of action. Don’t be stuck trying to perfect your creation, like editing your blog post a hundred times. You really think your article will get viral? No one cares! And that is a good thing.
- You can say your own piece without expecting a response from others. In this manner, your words and actions become more honest rather than just fishing for approval.
- By keeping at it and continuously creating, you further hone your skills. You may not notice it in the short term, but when you look at your progress after a while, you will realize that you have come a long way.
- As there is no pressure, you enjoy the process more. And we do things more if we enjoy them, thus creating this virtuous cycle of self-improvement.
The world belongs to those who create
Where most people are passive consumers, this opens up a great opportunity for creators. Those who produce content that is useful or entertaining to others become incredibly wealthy through social media or other online platforms. It turns out that we do have something valuable to share to others, and that often it is ourselves who impede that by making excuses.
In an age where most want their information to be spoon-fed into them, this results in social divide, increased cultural tension, and mass disinformation. Through all these bad things though, there is also a silver lining. There is no greater time in the history of mankind where you are able to impact and influence society on a global scale. However, you can only unlock it once you start to create something for yourself and allow your inner creator to flourish!
Use your power to benefit and bless others.
Photo by Ahmed Elbetar from Pexels