Pratik Ratadiya > Essays

Create More than You Consume

Despite an age of abundance and prosperity, more people seem to be disappointed and unsatisfied with the state of their lives. What explains this? Economically, the belief is that means of production and wealth are now controlled by a select few, and the rest of us are at their mercy. Even if we consider this to be true, a reset of this system may not be viable in the short term. What can we do at an individual level to improve our well-being until then? I believe that prioritizing creation over consumption is a key to increasing our positive well-being. I do not want to focus on just material creation. Creating experiences. Stepping out in the real world rather than waiting for things to happen to you. Ensuring that your contribution to something goes beyond just your money or attention. And much more.

Creation builds character. Stepping out requires you to take initiative. Creating something needs your effort. Having to contribute more than just money or attention means you need to invest your thinking and communication skills. Thus, a courageous, hard-working, and mindful person with good social skills will often feel good about themselves. Furthermore, when you create anything – a dish, a memory, an experience – they will often be consumed by someone else too. We have a natural tendency to feel happy when seeing others be happy because of us. Your well-being improves because you are making the world a better place.

Creation is challenging. It needs you to assess the environment, adjust to the constraints, and reach your means without disrupting the surroundings. Be it creating a travel experience, getting everyone together for an event, cooking a new recipe, or starting a new company, all of these have potential hurdles of their own. You come out more confident, but also start to respect the constraints and hurdles others go through in running their own processes. Consumption is simpler, but it also leaves you vulnerable at the hands of the producer. You do not have to navigate any major hurdles to consume. Most often, you are just providing money or your attention span. You cannot develop a personality of your own, are less independent in having a world view, and rarely know the background of most processes that affect you. This is perfect for people who want to stay in power or influence the world, as you are more vulnerable and open to be manipulated by them. Prioritizing creation is thus not only critical for your own well-being, but for a bigger power dynamic of the world.

But in a world where means of production are so concentrated, there is an incentive for everyone who is at the top of the chain to want you to be just a consumer. Why try to cook a dish for yourself and enjoy that process when you can just order something online? Why step out and talk to your local grocer and know about the reality of society around us when you can get groceries delivered to your doorstep in minutes? Why try to research and educate yourself about an issue when your favorite influencer can just spoon-feed you how you are supposed to think about this topic? The only thing most of us are creating is shareholder value, that too as part of our 9-to-5s. The rest of our lives are stuck being consumers.

The implications are already visible – across our mental, social, and economic structures. Instead of hanging out with friends and joke with each other, we rather now sit in our own homes and watch a few comedians get together and joke with each other. Mental health issues have been strongly correlated with social media consumption, especially in girls. Poor people are spending more on online food delivery than any other groups. Having kids and raising families is on the decline worldwide, while porn consumption continues to reach all time highs. A lot of these have clear linkages to people avoiding hardships that come as part of creation, while not realizing the longer term toll on their own well being from consumption. And modern businesses do not seem to want to change this any time soon.

This is not to say that all types of consumption is bad. A truly engaged reader, viewer, or listener can be deeply active mentally, and there are many forms of creational activities that can be mindless, harmful, and self-serving. However even then, for the deeply active consumer, it is their imagination, visualization, and creation of thoughts that makes them a more evolved individual. I created this essay, and already feel happy knowing you read it. Your turn now – create something today that you can be proud of. The world is yours for the taking.

P.S. A few random musings when writing this essay

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