On creating more and consuming less

I recently read a blog by Manuel Moreale about adopting the mindset of less consumption and more creation. I’m writing about this because it is something I have also been reflecting on these past few days as I contemplate on what I want to achieve this year. 

I imagine I’m not alone in confessing that I too spend a lot of time online. I know this because at the start of every week, I get a sobering notification on my iPhone indicating my screen time for the previous week. And every week, I am baffled as to how I managed to spend that amount of time on the screen.

Now I am not the type to advocate for going cold turkey on screens as a solution. There is a lot of good stuff on the internet. No doubt about that. But too much of everything is bad (generally speaking).

Creating seems to be the most effective method of minimising consumption, and I would agree that it is truly fulfilling when I’m able to find a good balance between creating and consuming. Indeed, mindful consumption can also aid the creation process because it allows the opportunity to be inspired by the work of others.

That said, in the quest to create I wonder if I am not contributing to the overconsumption pandemic online. As I create and share my work, am I feeding the consumption machine and putting others in the consuming cycle?

It’s quite a moral dilemma.

How do I resolve this? 

I am still trying to find the right answer(s) to this question. The internet has enabled access to virtually everything from all around the world. 

The good news is we access to virtually everything from all around the world.

The bad news is we have access to virtually everything from all around the world.

As a consumer I realise that have the personal responsibility to scale down what I consume to the things I value. And as a creator, I have an even greater responsibility to create and share things that are meaningful to me.