I recently read “On Consumption vs Production”by Jeremiah Johnson who publishes the substack Infinite Scroll. This post really resonated with me. The post, along with its reference to Jason Pargin’s Cracked article “6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person,” presents a compelling argument: people should be doing things.
This phrase doing things as explained in the article can mean many different things. According to Johnson “it must be something external to yourself and provides real value to someone else in the real world”. The core message is - your worth to others is based on the value that you can provide them. Johnson acknowledges that this is “unfortunate or unfair, but that’s the way the world works”.
The article challenges the common notion that mental health is a mostly internal and self-reflective journey. Arguing that “if you don’t put anything out into the world, that’s probably why you’re dissatisfied with your life.” Johnson then explores how the Internet makes doing things both easy and hard. While it’s never been easier to produce content or learn new skills, it’s also dangerously easy to fall into passive consumption of algorithmic content hours on end.
The article concludes with an effective call to action:
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If you’re doing nothing, start doing something. If you’re doing something, but not that often, do it more. And if you’re already creating and producing, keep it up - and don’t be afraid to try brand new things and take risks.
This message resonated deeply with me, reflecting patterns in my own life. I first experienced this revelation shortly after college when, unhappy and fresh from a breakup, I channeled my frustration into finding a new job. During the COVID-19 pandemic, faced with isolation, I focused on financial planning, strengthening friendships, and improving my cooking skills. Most recently, in late 2023, this drive led me to start this blog and pursue a job search that resulted in an unexpected and exciting opportunity.
While my blog hasn’t been as consistent as intended, Johnson’s article has renewed my motivation to write. I plan to share this perspective with friends who seem to be struggling with similar questions of purpose and meaning.
This theme reminds me of a lyric from Tyler the Creator’s song “Boredom” that has stuck with me since 2019:
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Find some time, find some time to do something