Consume to Create, Learn and Share: A cure for the Paradox of Progress?
I recently finished this book “Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope” by Mark Manson, famed blogger turned author whose no-nonsense, some might say “foul-mouthed” approach to motivational writing has captured the attention of self-help DIYers such as myself. I couldn’t say the book has provided me with distinctly new insights, but it did frame a recurring trend to me, as a resident of the developed world, in a unique way.
He calls it the “Paradox of Progress”: the increasing irrational hopelessness people feel today, in a time when humanity has never been more prosperous economically, technologically, socially, and I’d say morally.
He’s right for the most part. I’ve seen it in myself and the people around me in the developed world. It bugs the crap out of me because I myself have crawled out of a third world mess with aspirations for a better, happier life. And while I’m generally more “materially prosperous” than I was over a decade ago, I don’t necessarily feel loads more fulfilled than I thought I would.
In fact, I’m probably having a looming existential crisis in my hands. Maybe. And I fear this crisis will be shared by many more people in a future that seems to head towards abundance.
All of us capitalist suckers deep down all know that consumerism, our never ending pursuit of happiness through material wealth and worldly experiences, is the source of our internal discontent.
So I’ve been mulling about how to counteract this. And I figured out an interesting solution: Channeling our material purchases so that they contribute to more meaningful pursuits.
It’s not about necessarily consuming less. It’s about changing your mindset. Instead of buying stuff for the sake of doing so, it’s about buying stuff for the sake of creating, learning and sharing so that you can do things that are meaningful for you, and maybe the world around you.
Instead of eating out, try buying a cookbook or enrol in a cooking class and buy ingredients for a homemade feast you can share with your friends.
Instead of endlessly filling your Netflix playlist with shows / movies you will never watch, purposefully fill your playlist with content around topics you’d like to learn about (ex. documentaries, intelligently compelling comedy specials, socially-conscious dramas)
Better yet, buy a DSLR camera, a starter boom mic and some video editing software and make your own compelling videos.
Instead of chugging beers at a pub, buy a home brewing kit and make your own booze.
Instead buying more Ikea furniture, enroll in a woodworking class and make your scrappy-looking chair.
Instead of buying more shoes, up-cycle your old ones by paying money for materials (and courses in a shoe-making class).
Instead of buying art, enroll in an drawing/graphic design/painting class and make your own
Instead of traveling for relaxation, travel to learn or share knowledge, whether it’s a yoga retreat for self-discovery, or a philanthropic education mission to help the less fortunate
Pay to create stuff for yourself and others, whether it’s as mundane as creating a piece of home decor, as self-serving such as paying to attend personal investment classes, or as life-changing such as teaching coding to children in remote villages.
I know what you’re going to say: “Who has the time?”.
Once you center on one or a few projects, you may actually find yourself buying less stuff overall, and even optimizing your time to integrate these projects into your lives that would’ve been otherwise spent in endless shopping and restaurant queues, or in a half a day flight to some exotic location.
It’s an exercise I’ve been doing the past few years. I’ve been buying stuff, so that I can make stuff. Whether it creates impact outside of myself (although I post my little projects on social media, hoping a handful of friends get inspired), I’m not sure. But I sure feel a lot better about using the stuff I buy on personal projects that involve making things.
Because stuff that you make does feel better having than the ones you buy.
