Learning through consumption of books, blogs, podcasts is great. but here’s a truth I’ve learned the hard way: consuming endlessly without creating turns you into a passive spectator . I feel like a spectator of other’s work and ideas. If I create, even if it is in a tiny amount- it gives me a sense of fulfillment- that I have put something in the universe.

Although, consuming to learn is better than doing nothing. But, I have found that, after a point- the more content I consume- the lower the returns of the new content- less fun and less useful too.

But, I have always found that, I learn my best when I combine the consumption , with some amount of creation . There is no diminishing return to learning or fun when I combine consumption with creation.

When I create, I get to connect the dots- in a way, that only learning through consumption can never give . As the legendary physicist Richard Feynman used to say, you only know that you truly understand something- when you can teach it to others.

I was reading this recent statistics that an average person consumes about 10.5 hours of media per day – watching movies, shows, surfing the internet, scrolling social media, listening to the radio/podcasts, playing with an app & much more.
Consumption is easy.
But, creation is hard. It needs effort , focus, motivation. You have to fear ridicule & criticism.

The difference between Consuming & Creating is evident

• reading vs. writing,
• eating vs. cooking,
• singing vs. listening to music,
• watching a sport vs. playing
• using an app vs. coding
• scrolling social media vs. posting your own content

I think a healthy ratio between creation vs consumption is important.

Too much consumption, your consumption will consume you- it’s less fun, less useful and not fulfilling at all.
Too much creation, without good consumption- you spread yourself too thin, your creation will lack depth, taste and substance.