Are you a consumer or a creator?

Nowadays it is so much easier than ever before to create and put yourself out there.

From self-publishing books, videos, music, podcasts to photography, art and whatever other talents you might have, you can find someone interested in what you have to offer.

The tricky part for all of us consumers is to find quality content to put our attention towards.

Auditing your consumption habits once in a while is extremely healthy and allows you to get a good look at what value you are actually adding to your life.

Some say you are a reflection of 5 people whose content you consume most frequently.

Who are those 5 for you?

Content can be either productive or destructive.

Either inspiring you to achieve more or distracting you from your goals.

Figuring out whether the content you consume fits in with your values and serves you well is key.

Is it positive, inspiring, educational, entertaining?

What value does it bring into your life?

What else can you do with all that time?

What other content can you consume during that time?

What can you create during that time?

The content you consume should be positive, and therefore productive.

It should add energy and not subtract it.

You should feel recharged and not drained after listening to or watching something.

There are plenty of amazing creators out there you can learn from. Don't settle.

All of us are creators. We all create in different ways, but one thing is universal, in order to be a great creator you do need to be a good consumer of great content first.

It is human nature is to fall into a routine, find shortcuts and limit stress - it is our brain's defense mechanism.

So sometimes we can be blind to the obvious fact that the content we consumed a few months or years ago as entertainment does not serve its purpose anymore, and instead is wasting our time.

Sometimes the content that seemed inspirational and new a while ago, is now repetitive and not aligned with your values anymore.

Ask yourself whether the creator is inspiring you to improve and level up and whether the content is positive and adds energy.

Maybe you realize that your attention is being spent on content that doesn't add a lot of value. That's okay we all need to zone out at times.

Of course, it helps you to relax at the end of a long day or during (we knew you'd say that).

But let's be brutally honest with ourselves, sometimes we are spending too much time "relaxing" even after our days aren't that tough.

Relaxing is now a habit, and what was supposed to be a short break turns into hours of watching TV, browsing the internet, gaming, etc. (enter whatever you indulge in at the end of a hard day)

You don't have to choose whether to be a consumer or a creator. The trick is to be both at the same time.

Once you establish your 5 positive influencers, it's the perfect time to put all that knowledge to use and create something yourself.

It doesn't need to be in the same field as those 5, but you should make good use of the insights that you learned and the inspiration you received.

Use their content to fuel yours, whatever it might be.

You definitely learned something from the content you've been consuming for years, maybe you also got inspired or entertained.

What's the point of learning if you don't apply anything you've picked up over the years of consuming content? After all, knowledge is not power; applied knowledge is.

It's good to practice your craft while you learn from people who are better than you.

Learn from others, develop your skills and create your style. After all, that’s how all of us get better.