Full transcript
0:01Recently, my days have looked a little
0:03like this.
0:08The entire universe, anything. Love it.
0:10You ever had that zigzag?
0:14I ordered sushi for dinner. Opportunity
0:16for a quick, rapid-fire roast of
0:17someone. I just got home from work, and
0:19I actually have so many errands. Totally
0:22getting spoiled. It's like I'm an
0:23audience member in other people's lives.
0:27I'm being pulled into their world,
0:29[music]
0:30their interests,
0:32their seemingly endless talents.
0:37All mine,
0:40I'm left in the dark.
0:51I have an average screen time of about 4
0:53and 1/2 hours [music] a day.
0:55And that doesn't even cover the time
0:56spent behind my computer or watching TV.
1:01And 4 and 1/2 hours is a lot of time to
1:03be spending on anything, really.
1:06But especially on something that [music]
1:07usually isn't all that meaningful.
1:10Often just gets forgotten pretty much
1:12instantly.
1:13And sometimes
1:15isn't even real.
1:22They say you are what you consume.
1:24And if that's the case, then
1:26who does that make me?
1:29And better yet,
1:31who am I without it?
1:38>> [sighs]
1:40>> I
1:42came across a quote this [music]
1:44morning, like literally 15 minutes ago.
1:47I was just scrolling away, and I had to
1:49pause [music]
1:51and basically just go upstairs and
1:52record this because
1:54it just hit a little too close to home.
1:56It goes like this. You obsess over your
1:59identity in [music] relation to others
2:01while your soul rots inside of you.
2:04Potentially a bit of a
2:06serious [music] dramatic take, but I
2:09kind of think it is that serious. On
2:11pretty much every single social media
2:13platform [music] that I'm on, I have
2:15lists and lists and lists of things I
2:18want [music] to do.
2:23And they just [music] keep growing, and
2:24that's the problem. They keep growing
2:26and they never shrink because nothing
2:28ever gets ticked off. More and more I've
2:30just kind of realized how sad it
2:31actually [music] is that I clearly have
2:33so many ways in which I would like to
2:35spend my time, but I choose to just
2:37spend it [music] watching other people
2:39do stuff instead. And my interests are
2:41just, you know,
2:42rotting away.
2:43>> [music]
2:44>> If I wouldn't have all of those sort of
2:45external voices
2:47to listen to and to compare myself to,
2:51where does that leave me?
2:56I just want to know.
2:58I quite often feel as though there's a
2:59gap between the things I want to do and
3:01[music] the things I actually end up
3:02doing.
3:03I've no idea if I can do this.
3:05And there's a lot of reasons for that,
3:06really.
3:07>> [music]
3:07>> Whether it's because I don't have time
3:09or skills, equipment, patience,
3:11originality, permission, but above all,
3:14confidence.
3:16So, it's easier to consume what everyone
3:18else is making
3:19>> [music]
3:19>> rather than attempting to close that gap
3:21yourself.
3:22But the more I consume and consequently
3:24the less I create, the bigger that gap
3:27gets
3:29and the more self-doubt begins to creep
3:30in.
3:35Until you put the phone down.
3:50I am attempting this painting today.
3:53I've had it saved for a long time and um
3:57today's the day.
3:59We'll see how I manage.
4:04I think the act of creating isn't so
4:05much about the actual output as it is
4:08about its effects on you.
4:12One of the things that scares me the
4:13most about how much I consume is the
4:16total lack of self-expression.
4:19In a way it feels as though the more I
4:21take in, the less I understand who I am
4:23as a person.
4:24>> [music]
4:25>> What it is that I like or don't like.
4:29And what I'm actually capable of.
4:31There we have my little painting.
4:34And it didn't take that long, like 2
4:35hours max. [music]
4:39You know.
4:42And that's not to say that it works out
4:44every time [music] cuz it won't.
4:47>> [sighs]
4:49>> It's not [music] working.
4:50It [snorts] just keeps cracking.
4:53I might have to give up on this [music]
4:54one. Um
4:56it is what it is. I tried at least.
5:00But you also might discover things you
5:02didn't even know were there. [music]
5:04One of the things that I've really been
5:05wanting to try is gouache paint.
5:08So I bought [music] some. Now that I'm
5:10actually actively trying to make the
5:12things that I want to make, what do you
5:14know? I'm actually getting really
5:16excited about them.
5:17>> [music]
5:17>> It's sparking something in me. A part of
5:20me that usually isn't really that
5:22stimulated. I haven't even started using
5:24the freaking paint and I'm already super
5:25happy with my purchase. [music] Like
5:28that means something.
5:30But I never would know that that means
5:31something [music] if I wouldn't try.
5:34So.
5:36Going to try these paints now.
5:39The reality is though that consuming
5:41[music] is infinitely easier than
5:42creating will ever be.
5:44It doesn't really ask much of you. No
5:46skills or patience. Definitely no
5:49[music] tolerance for being a beginner.
5:51So, it's a comfortable place to be,
5:52really.
5:54That is, of course, until you realize
5:55that if you never allow yourself to be a
5:57beginner, you'll also never stop being
5:59one.
6:05While we're on the topic of being a
6:06beginner, [music]
6:07I know very well how hard it can be to
6:09flip that switch and start making the
6:11things that you want to make.
6:13So, if you're looking for a little bit
6:14of guidance, I can highly recommend
6:16Skillshare, the sponsor [music] of this
6:17video.
6:19Throughout this journey of trying to
6:21create more and consume less, [music]
6:22I've turned to Skillshare multiple
6:24times.
6:25And it's been such a great tool to
6:26answer [music] the one question I always
6:28found myself asking, "Where do I start?"
6:32I think starting is often the hardest
6:34part of anything, really. But,
6:36especially with all of these [music]
6:37interests that I have, it can be so
6:39overwhelming to figure out how to bring
6:41them to life and where to even learn the
6:43skills necessary for them. And
6:45Skillshare has been a pretty perfect
6:47companion for it.
6:48>> [music]
6:48>> Whether I wanted to paint waterscapes,
6:50which I'd never attempted before, or
6:52learn how to use gouache, which I'd
6:53never used before, or just [music]
6:55figure out how to help any future ideas
6:57come to life,
6:58I could always find a little bit of
7:00guidance on Skillshare.
7:02It's been incredibly helpful for me and
7:03I'm sure it will be for you as well.
7:05So, if you'd like to see for yourself,
7:07the first 500 people to use my link in
7:09the description or [music] scan the QR
7:11code on screen will receive a 1-month
7:13free trial of Skillshare.
7:18I think people often assume that
7:19creating is only relevant if you're an
7:21artist of some sort.
7:23And I don't really agree with that.
7:26Creating to me, at its very core, is
7:28nothing but a constant cycle of
7:30problem-solving.
7:31Of figuring out how to narrow down that
7:33gap between imagination and creation.
7:36And rather than freaking out over the
7:37distance, just giving it a shot instead.
7:40So, I'm going to try to recreate a shot
7:43that I've been seeing all over my
7:45Instagram for the past couple of days
7:47and I think it looks really cool.
7:48Essentially, just like a hand reaching
7:50through the screen.
7:52I've never done this before. I don't own
7:53a green screen, so I don't know if it's
7:55going to work, but I'm going to try and
7:56we'll see.
7:58You never know.
8:00I'm learning that at the end of the day,
8:02pretty much everything is figureoutable
8:05if you just give yourself the space for
8:07it.
8:08I don't know.
8:11Let's see what that looks like. It's
8:13been a couple days since I've tried to
8:14recreate that shot, but I've been just
8:16like tweaking it a little bit,
8:17re-recording some stuff admittedly.
8:19[music]
8:20It actually turned out
8:22pretty okay. It's definitely not perfect
8:24and I feel like there is absolutely more
8:26[music] ways to make it look more
8:27realistic or more like smooth and put
8:30together, but I don't know. I'm just
8:32discovering It sounds so stupid, but all
8:35of these things are kind [music] of
8:36obvious. Obviously, when you're going to
8:38start giving things a shot and trying
8:40things and doing things, you're going to
8:42start realizing that [music] you're more
8:44capable than you think you are or that
8:45things maybe aren't as hard as they
8:47seemed [music] or, you know, stuff like
8:48that. And maybe that's what makes it
8:50even worse. Like, there's such obvious
8:53benefits to not just scrolling your life
8:56away and yet
8:58we still do it all the time.
9:00And I don't mean to say that consuming
9:01[music] is the issue here. I think my
9:03lists of interests are nothing but proof
9:05that there is plenty [music] of
9:06inspiration to be gained from it,
9:08but it's more so about what you do with
9:10all of that inspiration and all of that
9:11input rather than just letting it float
9:14around in your head morphing [music]
9:15into a million different questions,
9:18just giving it an outlet instead.
9:21Whatever that may look like for you.
9:24And it's not a matter of
9:26quit consuming cold turkey, but more a
9:28matter of know what you're consuming, be
9:30aware of what you're consuming, be
9:32intentional about what you're consuming,
9:35and don't let it get in the way of what
9:38you do and what you make and what you
9:40try and how you think and how you view
9:42yourself and the list goes on but you
9:44get the point. Just
9:46most of the time it really is that damn
9:49phone.