Don’t be a product.

I read this quote from James Clear: "The quality of my life is significantly higher on days that I publish an article. The creative process and well-being go hand-in-hand."

This reminded me of the benefits of creating instead of consuming. If I look at my behaviour online, the balance of creating vs consuming is not where I’d ideally like it. It’s easy to be seduced by the algorithm.

But I don’t think we should feel bad about those internet rabbit holes we tumble down. Thousands of highly paid people with a thorough knowledge of behavioural psychology are constantly testing and refining tactics for their platform to capture your attention and hold on to it for dear life.

If you understand their objectives and accept this is a simple fact of life that is outside your control, it’s easier to focus on what you can control.

And that is your attention. Don’t cede it to those clever facetokinstasnapin algorithm trainers. Remember that you da boss!

A great use of your attention is creating stuff. For me, that is writing. Writing is thinking. And thinking is interesting. It broadens perspectives. It extends knowledge. It helps you uncover new insights. It takes you places you don’t normally frequent. If you could put all the benefits of thinking into a pill and sell it, you’d probably have a tax bill the size of NZ’s GDP.

A question for you. What do you want to create? Or learn?

If you are reading this sentence and have not answered the above question, STOP. Engage thinking. Break the habit of thoughtless consumption. What would you like to create or learn?

Think of the compounding gains for learning little and often. Or creating little and often. Where would you be in 12 months if you diverted some of the attention those social platforms steal from you and directed it to learning or creating?

Take back control. You own your attention. Don’t let those bastard algorithm overlords hijack it for their own ends. And to remind you, their incentive is to get lots of eyeballs to sell to advertisers. YOU are the product.

Don’t be a product. Go and create or learn something. You and the world will be a better place for it.