Creation over Consumption
Are you perpetually taking courses or learning?
I absolutely love to learn, and I know many of you share this value with me and spend a lot of time and money on your own growth, learning, and development. However, the desire to learn, heal, or grow can also be a distraction from doing what is most important.
Consuming and taking in others' perspectives, constantly focusing on healing, growth, or learning is often rooted in scarcity. In other words, the desire to prioritize consumption can be an indicator that in some way, you may not feel that you, your voice, your perspective, or your work are enough. Consuming can become almost addictive when you are trying to fill a sense of scarcity with something that will make you feel whole.
It rarely works that way.
The antidote? Moving your attention and action toward being, toward creation, toward output.
To do that, you must balance the equation.
Look, I am always taking courses (one at a time, thank you) and I always have a coach (sometimes two), however, I also know that when my days start to be overly focused on healing, learning, and personal development it’s time to balance the equation.
Three steps to prioritize creation.
Simplify your consumption. Choose the one thing you will focus on from a learning perspective and really dig in. Finish what you start and implement what you learn. Yes, this might mean grappling with money lost or opportunities that pass you by. I get it. Often, when learning is driven by scarcity, there is a tendency to sign up for more and more things without doing any of them, which just exacerbates a feeling of not enough or scarcity.
Also, please minimize promotional emails. I know I’m here in your inbox, and hopefully, you find great value in what I share however, unsubscribe liberally. Can I tell you a secret? I rarely subscribe to or read others’ work. Why? Because it distracts me from doing my work and often muddies the waters in my brain. If you want to be doing your art or sharing your wisdom or connecting with your ideal clients, create space around your thoughts and ideas by unsubscribing from all but the very best of what arrives in your inbox.What is yours to do?Know your priorities. Here is the deal - you can’t do everything right now, so choose what is most important to you. I personally find that three big buckets are where I operate best (work, family, and play are my current big 3). Within each of those three big buckets, I create quarterly intentions and priorities.
For instance, at work, I’m focused on producing a new course for you (Cultivating Abundance) and my consistent production of news as well as serving my clients. My daughter and husband both have big changes happening and I am committed to giving them plenty of my time for both emotional and practical support and love and encouragement. Finally, I am working on bringing play back by taking a watercolor class at a local art studio and spending time playing with paint.Commitment and consistency. Speaking of time and energy commitments, this is most important - you must commit to carving out time for what is most important consistently. Every week, I review the previous week and I look ahead to the coming week. I block time on my calendar for both work commitments and my playtime. I wrap work around my family’s schedule so I am sure to be present for them.
It’s not that I don’t get other things done, but these are my first time and energy commitments each and every day for right now. These things don’t slip often, if ever. That’s what it takes.
That’s it. The mere act of simplifying consumption, scaling back your priorities, and committing time to show up for what is most important to you is like a sigh of relief. You don’t have time to do, or consume, or create all the things but trying activates scarcity and frankly, overwhelm.
I want to see you doing your art. I want to see you focusing on what you truly want to create. I want to see you sharing your wisdom, your voice, and your offerings with the world.
You are invited to balance the equation and trust that you, and the time you have, are more than enough for what is most important to you. That can, and should, absolutely include learning and growth, but not at the expense of producing your work and creating your art.