When the day comes to an end, what are you most proud of? Consuming vs Producing

“Emptiness is a symptom that you are not living creatively. You either have not goal that is important enough to you, or you are not using your talents and efforts in a striving toward an important goal.” ~ Maxwel Maltz

(Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who turned into helping people as a motivational speaker, after realizing the unhappiness of many his patients)

A friend of mine recently noted something that made me think, amid an argument about whether or not watching tv is a waste of our time and eventually of our existence. In a moment of clarity, he said that it all comes down to Consuming vs Producing. When we watch tv we are merely consumers thus it comes down to the question of whether we want to produce or consume in our free time. Tada! Yes, it is that simple, and nothing like someone else to make you realize this piece of common sense. By producing here is meant the act of exercising your creative power to produce something , including ideas. I will leave aside the discussion of value of what is produced because it seems more important to understand how we perceive our daily tasks and how happy we are with what we have done at the end of the day. Are we passively intaking and observing (consumers) or are we getting our hands dirty and generating any output : ).

I have wondered why, although I keep myself quite busy doing you name it, there are weeks when I have a craving for creating, regardless of how I have busied myself with many tasks and activities during the week. The consumer vs producer idea makes it all very clear: I have busied myself with consumer activities, not producer ones.

Consumer activities usually are those who you feel relaxed about doing, because by nature they are not demanding. And yes, these are a necessity, just as sleep is. But how much of these can we take before our creative sense feel numb out of inactivity?

In an attempt to understand my own cycle of consumer and producing tasks, here is a short list during a typical week. I encourage you to become aware of how you distribute your creative energy and write down your own list:

Work hours: Yes, I do create during this time, sometimes, although it is well known that expecting your mind and spirit to be creative during certain hours is quite hopeful. Software design engages a type of creativity although it is different from that of visual arts for example. I cannot count on my tasks at work to be the bulk of my creativeness.

Surfing/Misc time at the computer: Being in the computer industry this is where great part of our times goes to for one reason or the other. However it also applies for a great number of people, reading email saving pictures, getting lost in the web of social sites, reading news, browsing random videos and images.

Exercise: Running, tennis, hiking. It feels like a consumer activity because I am intaking some sort of energy, I am not making something that was not there before. Yes, I am contributing to the well being of my body but aside from displaying discipline and possibly inspiring others to do the same, this is at heart a consumer activity.

Shopping: Yet another activity where we are obviously consuming. Unless you get as creative as some fashion women I have met, who do an amazing job at matching and combining outfits, or those who decorate their homes for the sake of the decoration, then shopping is probably a consumer task.
Shopping however, deserves a post for itself : ) . Recently I have discovered that a desire to shop could arise from a deep craving for beauty and aesthetics, it is not merely a desire to buy yet more clothes and accessories. So read my post about shopping.

Spending time with friends: This is a subtle one, there are several intangibles one could argue are being formed here, such as relationships. There is certainly an art for creating and strengthening bonds, social architecting, and many more subjective names. After all this post is in part a result of a social moment. However, often it feels as if social activities are a way of procrastinating away from creating!

Exploring and traveling to new places: We often enjoy a good share of visiting places, going to a nice walk around the city, discovering new hiking trails or unique restaurants, traveling to remote places (include here anything you call “driving around” or “going on a trip”). Through this we absorb fresh vibes from places and people we have not seen before, we learn and open our eyes to the world around us (consumer task anyone?). Photography I believe is one of those mediums we use to give back some of what we have taken from our surroundings, to fulfill our imperative duty to be creative. It comes from a sudden desire to capture that which we see, to take it all with us and share it with others later.

And last but not least:
Occasional piano musings or painting: This is what I call my “brain massage” time. After a long day of problem solving and challenging activities, these become the warm water in which to place your sore feet, or in this case your sore brain. These are consumer and producer activities at once because you consume a certain kind of relaxation yet engage your creative senses to mix colors and sounds.

This is my pattern, what is yours? When the day comes to an end, what are you most proud of?

Free yourself from that shopping addiction

If you have doubts about being addicted to shopping there is a good chance you are one. This is one step closer to solving your problem, becoming informed.

Before you read this post, I suggest you read my previous one about why we shop.
Are you unhappy about a relationship? Are you overworking yourself so that you need to have a lot of “I deserve that” moments? Even if you can afford it, shopping can rarely bring a lasting comforting feeling, it is a quick fix. Still, you shop.

To help you get a quick glance at how your emotions are affecting your shopping, try Mint.com. This site has a great little tool to let you see shopping trends: how was much was spent on food vs clothing stores? You could start by entering your credit card information at the minimum, and Mint will automatically categorize expenses for you and show you a chart! You can also see how you compare to other people in your area.

So really, what should you do?

1) Confide, share, help others!: Before you begin this journey you need to figure out how you will document it, because this will be one of the accomplishments you are most proud off once your problem is solved. This will also help others follow your steps so that they can help themselves.
To help you bring some order to your chaos, this notebook layout will help you organize yourself.

2) Photography & Crafts: a hobby that engages your visual sense can help you satisfy a need to buy pretty things, pretty clothes, accessories, etc. You could also try any type of art, and if you do believe you have a great sense of fashion, start your own business! At etsy.com you can find many women who are selling their fashion creations with great success.

3)“Walletless” shopping: I have done this before and it works. Having to return to the store to buy the item you saw yesterday will make it more difficult for you to shop.

4) Create a Blast bank account: Regardless of the bank accounts you have now, create two bank accounts, one for savings, and …listen to this, the other you can call Blast, and you will use to have a good time and spend as you want. This will keep you from shopping starvation while keeping you within budget AND saving. I came across this idea in the best seller Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker and have tried it myself! There is a great summary article about the book here.

5) Watch less TV, but less fashion magazines: This is crucial. TV is often a way to let yourself be influenced by OTHERS, what they think you should be buying, and yes, how you should look too. This is no news to you, you have heard this many times.
A few days ago I was shocked to hear from a friend that her 4 years old daughter thought she was not pretty because she was not wearing make-up! This is scary, and thankfully some organizations such as the loveyourbody are addressing it for good.

Feel free to send me your own suggestions, WHAT WORKED FOR YOU?

Credits

Beach girl photo by Laura Hertzfeld http://flickr.com/photos/leh