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Episode 2986:
Ali Cornish reflects on the shift from childhood creativity to adult consumption, emphasizing the importance of creating over consuming. She reminisces about imaginative play in her youth, contrasting it with the passive consumption that often characterizes adulthood. Ali advocates for reconnecting with our creative selves to add value to our lives and the world, rather than succumbing to the fleeting satisfaction of material possessions and digital distractions.
Read along with the original article(s) here: http://everthrive.org/blog/2016/4/20/creation-over-consumption
Quotes to ponder:
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw
"Instant gratification is just that: instant, ephemeral, fleeting."
"When we create or cultivate meaningfully, we thrive."
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[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 2986 Creation Over Consumption by Ali Cornish of Everthrive.org And I'm your narrator Justin Malik reading you blogs every single day of the year And without further ado, let's get right to it as we optimize your life
[00:00:22] Creation Over Consumption by Ali Cornish of Everthrive.org Quote Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself George Bernard Shaw When I was a child, I spent my free time building forts with my brother.
[00:00:40] We forged wood from nearby construction sites, acquired hammers and nails from the basement and used power tools without consent. Adjacent to our dream homes, we sandwiched a small oven rack between some bricks, producing a small but effective stove where we roasted lunch meat to survive in our suburban
[00:00:57] Chicago backyard. It was 1993 and we were about 10 years old. When indoors, we drew, sculpted, painted and cultivated various amphibious creatures and tanks scattered throughout our two bedroom house shared with our parents and baby brother. We wrote stories, played endless games of Stratigo, and were known to conduct
[00:01:17] elaborate puppet shows complete with sets, drapery and lighting to entertain our parents during dinner. We hit puberty in our activities, no longer fully aligned. He would go off with his friends who would spend hours in the neighbor's driveway
[00:01:30] perfecting their kickflips, olleys and riding fakie while my best friend Julia and I played dress up and filmed intricate scenes based on the relationship between a girl and an eccentric gypsy complete with commercial breaks. During winter, Julia and I were also known to dawn full
[00:01:47] snowsuits, pack two Snickers bars each and pretend to go ice fishing in the field behind our school. Our imaginations were at their peak. As we aged, our collective creativity trickled off, my nearly extinguished by the time high school was over.
[00:02:03] Adolescents had a kind of sobering quality. Those years taught me that I would always be judged and that others opinions mattered. At least, that was my reality. My creative impulses became more secretive, isolated and tinged with guilt. I knew I should continue writing, drawing,
[00:02:20] dancing and playing piano. I felt guilty that I wasn't. But I also felt the magnetism of adulthood and finding myself in real job. All these serious phases loomed over me, causing anxiety. Even though I wanted to grow up quickly and escape my teenage years,
[00:02:36] I also longed for distraction. And for a teen in the late 90s, that distraction was the maul. I discovered the elation of buying. The excitement of anthropology which I felt was a store that truly spoke to me due to its whimsical merchandising, artfully displayed
[00:02:53] clothes and patchouli scented candles disguised as keepsake boxes. I didn't buy everything I saw, I was and have always been frugal and savings oriented. However, visiting old Orchard Mall on a Saturday afternoon was so much easier than facing the daily rigors of high school.
[00:03:09] I preferred to distract myself, losing myself instead of finding myself, drifting in a sea of want dazed by the anticipation of acquisition and pacified by the instant gratification of a purchase. Most people find it much easier to consume rather than create.
[00:03:26] Creativity takes time, patience and space to be inspired. Oftentimes, creativity necessitates isolation from our busy lives. None of these things come easily as life can overwhelm us with increased responsibility. We long to revert to our childhood, a place of playful creativity
[00:03:44] and eschew the anxieties of the present. Instead of accepting the challenge to create or cultivate some aspect of life, we often find escape in our phones. We scroll through our news feeds and live vicariously through other people's lives. We switch to Instagram where we absorb
[00:04:01] what has been labeled digital crack by the minimalist, Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus in one of their earlier podcasts. So coming to the anxiety produced by life's challenges, we pacify ourselves with various outlets of instant gratification. We do this at work
[00:04:17] while commuting or waiting in line for coffee. Instead of connecting with ourselves, our tasks and other people, we hide behind instant gratification. Instant gratification is just that instant, ephemeral, fleeting. Distracting ourselves doesn't help us to be better people and only leads us
[00:04:36] away from our true selves and our goals in life. Instead of purchasing needless items, we can take account of the material possessions we already own. Instead of heeding the notifications
[00:04:47] of our devices, we can connect with those around us. It takes some effort, but it is very possible to access the creative impulses of our childhood. When we understand the goals of creating and
[00:04:59] adding value to our lives, we will be able to focus on what will make us better people. We can find the strength to grow with each experience and moment and to contribute to
[00:05:09] the world around us. When we find value in our lives, not our possessions or our distractions, we can add value to the world. When we create or cultivate meaningfully, we thrive. You just listened to the post titled Creation Over Consumption by Ali Kornish of Everthrive.org.
[00:05:33] Take it Ali, something to consider especially during weekends like this if you're listening in real time. How much we're creating versus how much we're consuming. Personally, I'm in a position where my job is to create a lot, hoping to create something of value for you to listen to
[00:05:49] every day. And by the time that's done for the day, it's hard to be motivated to create some more. So I consciously choose to consume and consume some more, even if it's consuming lunch
[00:06:00] while consuming some TV. I'm fine with that because my creativity comes out mostly in business form and I like that. For you can be very different, but it's important to think about that ratio.
[00:06:11] Or you're in a place where you're happy with how much you consume versus how much you create. So something to think about this weekend. Thank you for listening every day. Have a great weekend if you're listening in real time and I'll see you tomorrow as usual
[00:06:24] where optimal life awaits