There was the answer right in front of me: Pizza! This was my moment. As I pulled over to make a u-turn to get back on course for my night, this sign filled my eyes. Not a little to the left, not a little to the right, but right there in front of me. The local dive bar had gotten creative with the reader board and it now shined like a billboard slapping me in the face. “People suck. Pizza understands. Pizza is here for you!” It spoke to me, “Pizza!” How comforting would a slice of hot cheesy pizza feel right now? Who am I kidding…a few slices of pizza I should say.
How ironic I happened upon this sign after making a wrong turn that night. Thoughts started running through my head. Thoughts of all the wrong turns I had taken in my life. Thoughts of how a good slice of pizza could make them all better. Thoughts of how many other people might use pizza to cope, or any other favorite food for that matter. Trust me, I have a long list myself. Are we using food to get away from the troubles in life? How many times I have used the food to try to get back on track.
But it’s not just food. What else are we using? As I looked deeper into my own behavior I found that it is not just about food. What else do I use? Food, shopping, movies & television. For me, it is about consumption. Activities that require consuming are an easy escape from reality. The short-term high takes us to an escape from stress, emotions and responsibilities. For me, these ‘consuming’ activities could be anything such as food, shopping, television or endless hours of scrolling through social media and watching the dumbest videos I can find. Other people could be hooked on gambling, drinking or drugs to even worse effects. Consuming activities are all those activities where we take from the world without giving anything back.
Consuming activities are deceptive. The short term lift in spirits is a literal sugar high. Pulling us up out of the gutter to an instant euphoria. Then no sooner than you swallowed your last bite or tried on that new shirt, the high drops and brings you to an even lower place. The costs of consuming behaviors are lasting. In food I put on countless pounds over the years, through shopping I have spent money I do not have and on YouTube I have wasted hours I can not afford. Once the high of consuming activities drops off, you are left feeling fat, broke and out of time. Consuming activities bring you to a new low. Consuming activities lead you to believe you are the one taking: taking control, eating the treat, buying the new toy. But the they have the last laugh as they are robbing you of your true happiness. Consuming is deceptive in that it teases us with content only to leave us feeling worse off than when we started.
If we can not turn to our coveted activities to get through the toughest of times, then how are we going to cope? How do we see the sun through the cloudy day? What can we do to feel better and pick up spirits?
Worry not my friends, there are other options. Have you ever had a productive day at work and noticed how good you feel. You know the type of day where your inbox is at least left with the same amount of emails as you started with, and you didn’t get further behind. It’s that day where you finally worked ‘heads down’ on that project and seemed to wrap up in four hours what it has taken you weeks to finalize. That is the feeling I am looking for.
But can we find it without work? Yes, yes, yes we can! See we are not feeling this way because we were working, it is because we were being productive or as I like to think we were creating. Creating leaves us feeling like we have something to offer to the world. I’ve been tricked in the past into thinking that I must be a workaholic because I enjoy the feeling of getting things done at work. But the issue was that work had been the only place I was challenging myself to create, so it was the only place I found the satisfaction of a productive day in the world.
When we find ‘creating’ activities instead of ‘consuming’ activities, we are left with a feeling of accomplishment and worth. Once I was able to identify the creating activities, I started to work them into my week and into every day as much as possible. For me, creating activities include, writing, baking, home and garden projects, and volunteering. It might only be a few minutes to write at night, but it gets words on paper and leaves me feeling like I am contributing to the world rather than taking from it. And get me going on a weekend yard work project and the feeling is amazing!
How do you feel after you consume? What do you create?
Thank you for creating an amazing journey together with me. Please help be sure to like comment and share so that your friends can get out of the consumption trap as well! I appreciate your feedback in the comments below!
Andy Vargo is a motivational speaker, life coach and comedian who challenges you to ‘Own Your Awkward’. He is the author of the Awkward Journal series, host of the podcast, Own Your Awkward, and shares thoughts and ideas in his blog and video series available at awkwardcareer.com.
Image courtesy of Delia’s Oakland Lounge, Tacoma WA