creating vs. consuming

pt. 1 - we are constantly consuming

Boredom seems prehistoric. Any spare moment is an opportunity for a hundred potential dopamine hits to alleviate the stillness.

A brief, well-meaning Google search suddenly wormholes into hours of lost time. Doomscrolling is a bottomless stream of internet perfectly optimized to entrance our innate human greed.

But all this consumption is mind-numbingly noisy, especially for the creative soul.

I can’t create when I’m stuffed full with unnecessary, unmemorable information.

So what’s the right balance of creating vs. consuming?

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pt. 2 - the search for creativity

I often go to the internet to hunt for ideas and end up getting sucked into distraction.

Other times, I already have the ideas but convince myself I need to do more research anyway, for reassurance…which ends up with more wasted time.

Thus, I end up procrastinating the execution of ideas that have been sitting in my head, and by the time I get around to executing, the idea doesn’t feel as novel.

So, here are some principles I’ve begun abiding by, to see the ideas through and to create more:

• pen and paper - especially helpful during the idea-conception stage. Before Figma, Canva, Google Docs…there was paper, which too can be a place for sporadic thoughts, constellated across a physical surface. Perhaps when the connections are drawn, something will pop up.

• strike while it’s hot - when an idea crosses my path, the sooner I act upon it, the better. Perhaps it’s the beauty of spontaneity, that in-the-moment spur, but the energy of a fresh idea begging for a tether into reality is unmatched.

• airplane mode - I’ll close the twenty million tabs, lock myself in a room, and give my full focus to this one creative task. It is a taxing endeavor, the act of creating: giving life to a vision that is solely in your head. Give it the attention it deserves.

• be bored - engineer your surface area for creativity by letting utter nothingness seep in. When the noise stills and you’re devoid of distraction, where does your mind go?

And perhaps most importantly - becoming detached from results. Understandably easier said than done, but when creative work is done for the sake of process rather than outcome, it allows for unprecedented freedom, experimentation, and expression. It is lovely to create just for yourself.

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pt. 3 - slow down, touch grass

The accessibility of consumption in all forms has made me an impatient being. It has made me expect constant and instant gratification when creativity is far from constant nor instant.

In all aspects of my daily functioning, I’m trying to slow down, and listen and feel. Listening to the birds chirping upon the arrival of spring…feeling the slight breeze of a post-rainy day.

Quieting my mind so that the creativity within might find the courage to make itself known and gift me a new idea. Like caring for a plant: with water, nourishment, and light, it might gift you a flower.

It’s a fickle thing, but when the to-dos quell and the busy-ness fades into the background, there’re often crumbs of quirks, curiosities, wonders waiting to be explored further.

What’s waiting for you?

until next week!
Sulan :)
@sulansart

P.S. For my video editing projects, I find myself getting lost on Vyra, seamlessly weaving together ideas and crafting stories with an unlimited ceiling for execution. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Or just send me your thoughts (by replying to this email). I read every message :)