Consumption is the Thief of Joy
I've seen a pattern emerge in my oldest creative hobby (drawing), and now it's starting in my newest one (blogging).
This is the pattern: I start out enjoying the hobby for its own sake. Just doing the activity is fun and the results are a secondary treat. Then, I discover the joy of seeing other people doing the hobby online -- it's important to distinguish the online part1. Then, when I feel the craving to draw or write, I do the easier thing which is to scroll through the fruits of others' labor. It's inspirational, I tell myself at first. But then it crosses over into consumption. Instead of having fun blogging, I'm spending more time reading others' blogs. I find that, for me, it scratches a similar itch to doing the activity without actually developing my own skills. The consumption shallowly satisfies the creative desire without the actual long-term growth of the creative act2.
Like all discussions, this issue can boil down to "it's a balance." For me, though, I'm recognizing that the consumption part of a hobby is much easier to overindulge in than the creation part. So when finding that balance, it's important to keep that in mind.
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I find that the overindulgent nature of the consumption part of a hobby is most potent in easy-to-access feeds. Visiting a museum or reading a book is usually less short-term satisfaction and more real inspiration because the friction and intentionality that they require form more lasting memories.↩
Insidiously, the disconnect that is created between my creative taste and my skills when I overindulge in the consumption part of a hobby can make it increasingly difficult to start creating again whenever I try, furthering the vicious cycle.↩