Create More to Consume Less

My pal and colleague, Joel Hilchey, and I wrote a book about having better ideas more often. It's been useful to revisit.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much potential so many of us are leaving untapped. I too frequently catch myself in the spiral of steady consumption these days, whether it's social media feeds, news broadcasts, streaming movies or music. I've been reminded of something my pal and I wrote in our book, Brainsprouting: How to Become Fearlessly Creative & Have Better Ideas More Often. In fact, it's how we decided to end our book. Perhaps you'll find some value in it too.

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Consumption vs Creativity

Most people would have you believe that happiness comes from something external. Marketers, for instance, spend a lot of money telling you that your well-being is just a purchase away. Buy this and you’ll be happier, richer, and more popular; buy that and you’ll be healthier, better-looking, and stress-free. From dreams of winning the lottery to long birthday wish lists to weekends spent in shopping malls, our culture has internalized the idea that happiness is linked to consumption.

Unfortunately, this idea is wrong. Happiness does not arise from consumption, and in many cases, consumption actually makes us worse off. It’s no secret that consumerism is at the root of many environmental issues, but many personal problems are also tied to habits of consumption: Obesity, addiction, and depression are all complications of this cultural disease. The constant bombardment of advertisements has gone well beyond influencing our spending habits; it has affected the very core of our being: We have become consumption junkies.

We like to imagine consumption and creativity as two ends of a spectrum. Consumption, in our context, is not so much about spending money as it is about passively absorbing the world around us. This lies in contrast with creativity: An active process which is focused not on absorbing, but on producing. We recognize these may not be perfect opposites; it’s impossible to create a painting without consuming paint, for example. But here’s our big point: We think our perpetual focus on consumption is a barrier to creativity.

Since many growing problems are linked to our insatiable consumption, and considering creativity is its opposite, we don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that creativity can literally change the world.

In one way, creativity is the method by which we will find new solutions. Everyone agrees, for instance, that we need technological innovations to ensure global sustainability. But in another, more fundamental way, the practice of creativity itself is a solution. The practice of creativity acts as a sort of vaccination - a booster shot that increases our resilience, displaces consumption, and re-awakens our spirit.

For example, creativity is a core strategy in many personal therapies. Art, music, and dance all have proven health benefits, but there are other not-so-obviously creative activities that deliver the same sorts of results. Keeping a journal, for instance, allows space for reflection and original writing, and helps the writer create meaning from her experiences. A woodworker friend of ours told us that every piece he creates is a reflection of himself. Even something as common as rearranging the furniture provides an avenue for individual expression.

In fact, most hobbies (aside from perhaps watching TV) are creative in nature: Doodling, whittling, rhyming, fiddling. The list goes on: Design work, poetry, media creation, gardening, sewing, cooking, contributing to an online discussion, or having a conversation with a friend. They all involve creation.

More than just being fun ways to pass the time, all these activities implicitly reinforce something else.

Creating the Life You Want to Live

Perhaps the biggest role creativity has to play is its capacity to create a sense of agency in those who practice it. When we create, we experience firsthand the power of our own ideas. We experience the transition from idea conception to mature thought, and then, with enough work, the transition from thought to action. We can see the impact of our efforts on the world, and we can know that our choices to act made a difference. This is agency.

People won’t even attempt to change anything until they feel they have the ability to do it. Whether we’re thinking about changing the world or changing our lives, creativity helps us believe that we can.

Of course, a sense of agency isn’t the only thing that’s needed to make change. Change requires taking a risk in the face of uncertainty. Creativity builds fearlessness. Change requires mindfulness. Creativity helps us pay attention to our thoughts. Change requires motivation. Creativity helps us tap into our natural desires of curiosity, self-improvement, and contribution.

While creativity happens unintentionally all the time, we can choose to do it more often. We can become consciously creative.

When we create in any aspect of our lives, our empowered thinking will spill over into every aspect of our lives. For us, the journey of creating this book has literally changed the way we live. Our methods with clients and students have been transformed. Our professional results have shattered expectations. Our personal relationships have reached new heights. Creativity has given us many reasons to be grateful, and our sense of gratitude deepens as the journey continues.

The outcomes of a brainsprouting session are seldom predictable, but are reliably rewarding. We can only guess at where your path will lead, but practice creativity, and a world of possibility awaits. Make the choice to be fearlessly creative, and you will create the life you want to live.