Create Something Today

A nagging thought has persisted in my mind as of lately.

It’s this thought that I don’t always feel like I am in the driver’s seat of my own life. That I am constantly being pushed around by outside influences instead of always being in command. I feel uneasy because my mind is being pulled in many different directions by needless distractions.

It was this nagging thought that made me realize that I was not valuing my attention. Which if you really think about it, other than your time, is all that you truly own in this life. It is these two things that can’t be taken from you, yet here I was giving my attention away for free. One of my most valuable commodities being given away for the sake of other’s financial gain. It is I, the consumer, giving up partial control of my own life.

Sadly, it seems that many of us fall into this daily trap of being mindless consumers. We consume social media on our phones, we consume the latest hit drama on Netflix, we consume our local sports team’s weekly performance and on and on it goes. Consumerism has become normalized in our society because everyone else is doing it. After all, consumerism is great for the economy, and we Americans love to see our economy boom. But what value does that bring to our own lives?

Personally, I think that it is time to break free from this self-inflicted mental prison. Our mind is just too important for us to be handing it over to others without a second thought. It’s time that we question ourselves at our deepest levels to gain some understanding as to why we allow ourselves to be numbed by the cheap pleasures of consumption. I believe that only through regaining full control over ourselves can we find true satisfaction. To begin this journey back to full self- control I would start by asking yourself one simple question.

When was the last time you created something?

Be An Artist

This could be the act of making music, drawing a picture, writing code for a website or building something with your hands. When was the last time you were a creator? When were you being an artist in your own domain? It is important to realize that we all have varying perspectives and backgrounds that can add value to the human collective. It is at our very core that we were meant to create. Being human is to be a creator, to be an artist.

You may think to yourself that you can’t draw or act, or that you weren’t born creative. But that is a lie we tell ourselves to keep us from trying something new, to keep our fear of failure at bay. Understand that society doesn’t like to breed creators. It will feed your fears so that you follow the “safe” path of the mindless consumer. Creators are radicals because they buck trends and don’t mindlessly buy products being advertised. They are too busy finding happiness in their craft instead of endlessly searching for it one luxury good after another.

Maybe you’ve had this same nagging thought too but didn’t quite no how to place it. If so, then maybe it’s time you picked up the pen, the brush or whatever tool of the trade you prefer and get to work. Break out of the mental prison that society has pushed on you. Go create something today.