Consumption to Contribution
Fri Aug 26 2016
Here's a quick update on my life since my last post.
- Quit my job and started a company.
- Got married to the love of my life.
- Moved 3,000 miles away to Alaska.
During all of this I've been feeling my life running away from me, like I never have enough time and I'm not living a life I can be proud of. I'm 100% positive that I'm not the first person to try this and definitely not the first person to make this observation:
Media is killing me.
I only have so many hours in my life. Media is eating those hours away like a corrosive acid robbing me of experiences, and taking me away from other people in my life.
I work on a computer so distraction in one form or another is imminent. The most pernicious of all forms of media is inspirational media. These are videos, images and posts all aiming to help us improve our lives. I have spent hours if not days watching these types of videos. I go through them like crack cocaine seeking the next video fix to help me feel like I'm making a positive change in my life.
These videos suck me in.
Once I watch one video, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. they all know how to keep me hooked with videos that I will want to watch appearing right in front of me. The challenging thing for me is that I actually work on these platforms creating media for companies and getting helpful info out to their audiences. I'm coming to a new conclusion about all of the videos that I spend my time on. There is nothing out there that will help me achieve a better life full of rich experiences. I don't care who the speaker is or what the message is. I am making a new oath to be a creator/contributor not a consumer/viewer.
For the next 31 days I am committing to not watching videos, not looking at Facebook images, not watching movies.
For some people these platforms are great and they are able to use them in moderation. That is not the case for me. I've lied to myself about why I haven't been doing very well financially, blaming it on the amount of work needed to get ready for my move and my wedding. Well now here I am in Alaska and I'm realizing that I am and have been the problem all along.
I'd like to use this month to create for people, write posts, make videos, and actually get work done.
As I move through this process I will take as many notes as I can to track and see how much of a difference this really has on my life. This is in order to take back my life, and do things that matter.
My manifesto:
From today August 26th until November 1st I'm reclaiming my life, reaching for my goals, and striving to help those in need around me by eliminating toxins from my day to day activities. I will remove and refuse to absorb anything from the following sites and activities:
- YouTube
- Snapchat
- Video Games (Including Phone apps)
- Podcasts
- Movies
- Television Shows
My life is too valuable to spend on these sites unless I'm actually doing the hard part in making a real contribution. I'm grounding myself to stay away from all of these platforms with the exception of making posts for work using third party apps to publish content.
Signed - Nic Bovee