Creation Over Consumption: Making Space To Create & Chase Real Dopamine.

Are we stuck being a consumer and standing in line for the next cheap dopamine hit?

Who do we want to be? Creator of our own beliefs or consumer of other people’s thoughts?

In choosing to overindulge and consume do we let who we follow dictate what we think, what we believe, who we are, and who we are becoming? Instagram feed, the next podcast episode, emails, books, what is trendy, clothing, products, etc

I am so guilty of this. Getting sucked into an Instagram doom scroll or repeatedly checking the Twitter feed to “learn something”. Mindlessly going to work on that handheld slot machine. The boundaries you set for your circle of influence can’t be loosely held. Who knows what direction you will go? Be ruthless with who you are letting influence you and be in your circle.

So why is this important? I want to be creative, have the space to think for myself when learning from others, gain more clarity in my thoughts, and most of all live the life I want to live.

Living the way that I want to live does not involve waiting in line for the next cheap dopamine.

I want to be intentional with what I choose to consume. Influencing who I am, becoming and what I decide to create. Having standards, setting boundaries, and being self-aware.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Deep down I am a very curious and optimistic person who loves to learn. The perfect storm to be distracted by Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and interesting new ideas. Also, the perfect recipe to be creative, and a clear thinker with well-thought-out ideas to share with others. Two very close but vastly different paths.

In writing this I want less clutter in my life and my mind. Even thinking about this article, I needed to take a walk. To stop me from checking who has dropped the latest episodes of the podcasts, the background on the guests, what is interesting on my Twitter feed, and double checking who may be engaging with what I shared on Instagram today (stop playing the cheap dopamine game dude!). The cheapest dopamine game is posting something and out of habit checking twitter 2 minutes later. NO BEUNO. STOP.

Less waste in my life. Reducing the amount of clutter in my mind, clutter in my life, and overall less consumption of social media. (Or at least strategic consumption as Jack pointed out). Freeing up space for more purposeful creation & connection. Connecting others and with myself to better understand “what I want to want”, what I truly value, and believe.

Below are lessons & reminders to reduce consumption and intentionally create the space to create.

The Danny Miranda Podcast with Joshua Becker (Minimalism)

• Our Culture is binge-watching Netflix, shopping, and endless scrolling through social media. Fewer opportunities to create with the majority of energy spent on being a consumer.

• Creation happens in clear spaces. Cleaning your room, walking, investing in stillness, and improving your awareness sets the stage to shift from more consumption to creating.

• There is an overlap in the podcast space with creation & consumption at the same time

Jack Mullaney

• Thanks to Jack for shining light and helping me become more aware of this double-edged sword of creation & consumption. Active participation in creating our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

• Asking myself if am I just constantly consuming or creating.

Nate Graham

• Use social media as a tool with the intention to create & connect with others.

• Reducing the amount of unintentional consumption to simply pass the time.

Joe Rogan

• Post & Ghost: simple (not easy) but effective.

• Post with a purpose (create) & then ghost (no consumption) cold turkey on the non-impactful cheap dopamine.

• Joe Rogan says time and time again that rarely anything good comes from Twitter & Instagram comments. Doesn’t even waste his time with those distractions.

Time Blocks (Hormozi, Codie Sanchez, & Ryan Holiday)

• Alex Hormozi wakes up around 5-6 am and minimizes the gap between waking up and starting work. No meetings until after noon. Time blocking the day prioritizing his time and attention to create.

• Codie Sanchez discussed on The Danny Miranda Podcast wakes up, starts free writing with minimal structure, and doesn’t schedules meetings until after noon.

• Ryan Holiday is notorious for the no meetings before noon, no phone before 10 am, and is great at using “No.” as a complete sentence. Time blocked out his mornings for him, his family, and his craft.

Creation thrives in a space with less consumption and clutter. A reminder for me in these final months of 2022 and going into 2023.

Best Day of the Year, Until Tomorrow…

Ferate