creating 2022
And the Future of The Unremarkable Brain
Gong xi fa cai, my friends! I like Chinese New Year because it gives us another bite at the apple of New Year’s resolutions. Also, it comes right around the time of Groundhog Day, my favorite of the needlessly silly holidays. (See also: this amazing Bill Murray commercial).
As I shared last time, I’ve been slow to get my mojo going this year, but I’m starting to gain momentum. I’m spending some time today with Jinny Ditzler’s classic, Your Best Year Yet! The book guides readers through a series of ten reflective questions, like “What did you accomplish last year?” and “What roles do I play in life?” enabling them to really drill down and find specific and meaningful goals for the year ahead.
So far, I’ve been working from a general sense of wanting to write more posts, get more subscribers, put myself “out there” more often… that kind of thing. But today I remembered a framework that I learned several years ago:
consume less, create more
I don’t remember where I read this (I’m sorry to say — I’d like to give due credit), but it has stayed with me. What does it mean?
Consuming, in this case, is more than just what we put in our shopping basket and what shows up in a cardboard box at the door. We can think of consumption in a larger sense — what we watch, what we listen to, what we drink, what we snack on… what we take in from the world.
Creating, on the other hand, is what we write, or practice, or otherwise put out into the world. The way I see it:
Ordering take-out is consumption; cooking at home is creation.
Vegging out on the couch is consumption; exercising is creation (after all, you’re creating a healthier body).
Eating carbs is consumption; making ketones is creation.
I think we can also classify as creation any activity where the verb “building” can be used, such as building relationships, building healthy habits, building knowledge, or building a business.
The distinction between creation and consumption is more important than ever. In a recent video, Scott Galloway shared that screen time in America has gone up 25% each year since 2010, to the point where we now spend over 4 hours a day on our smartphones. I’m sure some of that time is spent on working, connecting, and other creative activities, but I’d be willing to bet that for most of us, most of that time is spent consuming.
un-hacking your brain
To put a finer point on it, check out Dr. Robert Lustig’s fascinating book, The Hacking of the American Mind. In it, he posits that many of the physical and mental health issues that Americans face today stem from our conflating the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of pleasure.
Lustig defines “pleasure” as the visceral feeling that comes from things like buying a new jacket, drinking a glass of wine, or binge-watching Emily in Paris with Peyton Manning. These things feel good in the moment thanks to the way they flood the brain with the “feel-good” chemical dopamine. But dopamine is short-lived, and it leaves us wanting more.
“Happiness,” on the other hand, is more lasting, more ethereal. Happiness comes from the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with feelings of contentment and satisfaction. It comes from watching your child graduate from college, or doing volunteer work for a cause you believe in. One of the best ways to increase your serotonin is — you guessed it — creative activity.
As I look back on the last two years, it’s easy to see how the pandemic has pushed many of us toward consumption. Being stuck at home, living in world loaded with unrest and anxiety, pleasure is what we naturally gravitate toward. But if happiness is what we want for ourselves, then it’s time to start creating again.
help me out!
As I embark on this year of creativity, I want to make sure I’m giving you stuff that is fun and worthwhile. Please let me know what you’d like to see more of.
blog posts about lifestyle?
blog posts about diet and brain health?
cooking videos?
audio podcasts?
healthy happy hour live events?
Reply to this email, or click here to leave a comment:
Thanks so much!
BigDave
Blog posts about lifestyle and diet. Cooking videos would also be great! Thank you!
I love the idea of creating vs consuming and how to flip from one to the other. as for your content, I love to read about diet and brain health and lifestyle. I like reading that kind of content b/c it helps to subconsciously remind me why I'm choosing to go for the "healthy" choice over the "easy" choice.