Less consuming, more creating. Doesn't matter what it is, doesn't matter if it's bad.
I have a personal theory that unhappiness is due to too much consumption, not enough personal creation. Even if it just a sketchnote or a doodle... that is enough.
> Nobody tells this to people who are beginners. I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this.
> We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It’s only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.
-Ira Glass
Video version:
In the same way, we probably all have thousands of bad programs/scripts/classes in us. Code 'em out.
[1] I've also seen this attributed to others and phrased differently
I plan good consumption, some laziness to free mind, more good body stretch and some good creation in cooperation with others.
What are you planning on creating? /s
Maybe I'll start with posting on sites rather than just reading the comments :)
For a few examples I have in mind:
Instead of just playing games, try to create them. Theres the global game jam coming up. I'll make some time for it. And spend the first few weekends this year going over unity tutorials.
Instead of just using apps, hit the hackathons join the teams and try to make a few. Learn new frameworks and maybe even languages while doing so.
Instead of listening to podcasts, write a couple on topics I'm working on or in proximity to (Not just tech, but political activism im my case). Record a few. See what the feedback is like.
Instead of just voting, get involved in political parties (I already do this I must admit), get out campainging and creating new support.
Instead of just passively using open source libraries, have a skim through the issues and see if theres anything I can spend an hour or two helping with. Even if it's just documentation or tests.
The main point of it all is, even if it's bad or goes nowhere, I've found at least trying to create rather than just passively read/play/consume tends to have positive outcomes, even if that's just learning new things, getting new contacts, or getting new ideas to try further down the road. Hence, the resolution: More creating, less consuming.
I like this idea! Primarily because for the longest of time, I have felt that passively consuming content wasn't helping to make the world a better place.
Instead, if only each of us contributed genuine, well-thought-out comments, it would be much more meaningful. A friend once said to me, "the meat of things for HN posts are in the comments" (paraphrased)
Can't agree more.
Does voting count as consumption? You aren't really consuming anything, but rather exercising a right. (OK, I guess you consume the physical ballots, but I have a feeling that wasn't your point.)
That said, getting more involved in political parties is definitely a commendable goal.
Which shows it is a nice principle since anybody can fill it in the way they like.
>Create, not Consume
Even tried making a poster out of it.