I first stumbled across some life-changing advice back in 2015.
I had just moved to a new country, started a business, and altogether was biting off a lot. Stress, anxiety, and burnout were all creeping into my life.
It was around the new year, and I’d set the lofty goal of reading 40 books for the year. I’m a voracious reader and on top of loving a good book, I was also facing a lot of alone time – making friends when you move 3,000 miles across North America takes time. On top of reading 40 books, I also felt like it was time to become more informed about current events in my new home country. My second goal for the year was to read three New York Times articles every day. Finally, I’d just discovered the joy of watching TED talks, especially on topics I knew nothing about – and decided to make watching one talk a day goal number three.
Those goals added up to a lot of consuming.
6 months into my goal, I was really enjoying it. I felt like I was preparing for a test that was never coming, but in a strange way, it felt like the right thing to be doing with my spare time.
Then I came across an article that changed my life. The life-changing advice was right there in the title.
Create more, consume less.
The article, from The Minimalists, highlights the void that consuming leaves us with.
Being The Minimalists, the article was mostly about consuming products, material possessions, food, and other traditional things that come to mind when the word “consumption” comes up. But the article struck a different chord with me.
What if, instead of consuming so much information – I decided to fill my own creative void?
I’d written many travel blogs and a few articles for my business, but I really hadn’t taken the plunge into daily creating. I had no time – I was too busy consuming.
That day, I decided to create more and consume less.
Instead of reading three New York Times articles a day, I started writing for my personal and company blog every day. Instead of watching a TED Talk, I put myself in front of the camera. Instead of reading 40 books a year, I cut the number in half and invested more time into drawing, cooking, journaling, podcasting, coding, photography, and even starting a book club to share ideas about the books I was reading.
Making this switch has changed my life. It’s reopened a creative bug in me that has helped me flourish in both my personal life and in my career. There’s nothing more gratifying than expressing your ideas – consuming information doesn’t come close.
If you’re in a rut or feel like you’re experiencing a creative void, take this advice.
Create more, consume less.