Less Consumption, More Action

2019 was a busy year for me. I started learning new skills. I spent more time outside my comfort zone. I challenged myself in ways I could have never imagined.

There was a lot of action and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. It’s hard. But to my surprise, I got used to it.

And yes, there’s a lot of sacrifices, too (notice my inconsistent blogging throughout 2019?).

I’ll talk more about it in my future post.

Today, let’s talk about something else.

Let’s start with these questions:

  • How many hours did you spend watching your favorite TV series?
  • How many hours did you spend scrolling your Facebook newsfeed?
  • How many hours did you spend watching movies on Netflix? Or watching a talk show about celebrities?

If you can track it, great. You might be surprised where your time goes.

The truth is:

Most of us spend too much time consuming information or entertainment we don’t have time for creating or taking action.

And this leads me to another set of questions:

  • What’s the point of our existence if we only consume but don’t create or contribute?
  • What’s the point of our life if we’re not working towards our dreams?

We are Wasting This Privilege

We have the tools to create something — any kind of art. And we have more opportunities and alternatives than ever (hello Internet).

Nothing’s evil with binge-watching a TV series. Or scrolling on social media. I completely understand (I am tempted to do it sometimes).

What makes it regretful is when we spend an incredible amount of time on them that we end up losing the hours we could have used for the things that truly matter — creating, practicing our chosen crafts, developing ourselves, building meaningful relationships, adventures, spending quality time with our loved ones, doing what we truly love, and fulfilling our dreams.

It’s not too late. We can still discipline ourselves.

Today, let’s try something new.

Let’s minimize consumption.

Let’s do one thing that will lead us closer to our dreams/goals.

Then do it again tomorrow.

Keep doing it for a year.

Let’s see what happens.