The Illusion of Progress: Why Creation Beats Consumption Every Single Time

chances are you’ve seen that quote all over Substack that goes:

“humans are designed to create. this is why you get depressed when all you do is consume.”

it’s genuinely the godfather of all Substack quotes.

probably came across it like a hundred times over already, but it still doesn’t make it any less true.

we were meant to create, it’s quite literally our life purpose.

really visualize it yourself, and take a look at how far we’ve come as a species, as a civilization.

the invention of agriculture. the creation of the wheel. the development of the light bulb. the creation of the printing press. the creation of the canonical bullet. the creation of penicillin. the splitting of the atom. the altering of genetic code. the creation of the computer.

all revolutionary creations in their own era and beyond, which have impacted the course of human history, forever.

but as of today, the most important question we can ask is this:

what happened two thousands years prior compared to now?

ever since the creation of the computer, and the internet, something changed.

algorithms started developing. they were hyper-personalized, catered to whatever you’re interested in, and feeding you information endlessly.

these same algorithms were implemented into every social media platform out there. instagram, tiktok, youtube, twitter, even substack.

information keeps on flooding in as long as these platforms are still alive, and it’s causing a major issue in how we think and execute today.

the masses are trapped in this loop of endless consumption, curating their for you page for entertainment, to fill in the silence of the day, and to cure their boredom instead of basking in it.

i’m sure all of you reading this know how this feels and have went through this at least once. doomscrolling being the most prominent symptom of this consumption plague.

we’re deviating further and further from our own purpose as a species, forgetting the art of creation which led us to the current position we’re in.

we’re assimilating, our ideas are merging with the masses. and in doing so this consumption loop is paralyzing us at the expense of our own autonomy, critical thinking skills, and authenticity.

all traits that are exclusive to creation.

why is this happening? how is this so damaging? and how can we reclaim the gift that is creation itself?

by the end of reading this you’ll know the answer to all these questions, so stay strapped in, this is going to get good.

it’s currently 8:51PM as I write this, the best time to focus for personal preference. airpods dialing me in to Weightless by Marconi Union, whiteboard scribbled with notes on this topic.

the beauty of creating ideas is unmatched.

no warm tea just yet, but feeling amazing after an earlier run. caught a winning trade earlier this morning on the Nasdaq, while my work on writing consistently is paying off. the beauty of creating momentum is truly priceless.

you start to see the beauty in everything you create, which is something consumption blinds you of.

but once you see the beauty in what you create and have now, you can’t unsee it.

so as always, do approach all of this with an open mind.

let’s get into it.

i’m not exaggerating when I say this. endless digital content is the new Pandora’s box.

and if you don’t know what Pandora’s box is, let me explain the story briefly.

in Greek Mythology, Pandora was a woman. she was created by Zeus as a punishment after Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to mortals.

she was given a forbidden box, and was told to never open it. but her curiosity got the best of her.

the box was opened, and all the evils flew out all over the Earth. calamities, disease, and miseries, spread everywhere. and the only thing trapped inside was hope.

the scary thing is, you can see the same thing with the internet, with social media today especially.

the creation of the hyper-personalized algorithm was Pandora’s Box in a modern lens.

and the scary part is? these algorithms will never stop working. the only way for them to stop working is if the world ends.

but here’s the real calamity that’s already unleashed onto the world: endless content, information being served to you on a platter with no end in sight, short-form content invading your for you page.

all of this is causing damage on a global scale.

stress and anxiety rates are going up.

everyone is getting their attention spans fried to the point where the mundane is being avoided.

those who are using these algorithms as a coping mechanism render themselves stagnant with wasting their time on surface level content.

this is just the tip of the iceberg for the modern Pandora’s box.

and looking at it rationally, it would make sense why “humans would be depressed when all you do is consume.”

you’re feeding yourself inputs that lead you to self-destruction, and the outputs weigh against your potential.

“i have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung.” - Rabindranath Tagore

acknowledging that endless content is being served to us on a platter, the modern Pandora’s Box poses negative byproducts to the world.

this is by far one of the most important things to consider.

you may have heard of this term yourself.

due to endless content being served to us everywhere, we’re prone to something called, “productive procrastination.”

it’s where you believe you’re working on something that feels like progress, but in reality, you’re not getting any progress done at all.

think of it this way: you’re on TikTok scrolling through motivational content. you like every post and watch every video motivating you to get work done.

in your head you’re getting all this dopamine in anticipation of what feels like progress to you. it feels amazing and addicting yet you’re getting nothing done.

and objectively, you’re just reinforcing a loop of stagnation.

you’re spending time watching videos on how to get better instead of actually getting better itself.

read that again.

there’s a clear difference here.

you also see productive procrastination when it comes to planning. i’ve fell into this trap myself before.

short story. i was breaking into my self-improvement journey and heard about habit trackers before. i wanted to optimize one myself and built one from scratch on Notion.

had charts, elaborate check boxes, and templates all in one.

i was using it religiously until I realized I wasn’t getting much out of it.

it just felt like added resistance throughout my day and performance. it’s the illusion of progress itself.

realized that the more effective way of reflecting is through journaling, which is more engaging and critically thinking when you introspect on your own life.

point being, productive procrastination is a plague. when you passively consume, and get trapped with endless content being catered to you, you’re prone to analysis paralysis.

you have to be self-aware of the trap that is out to get you. and once you are self-aware of the modern Pandora’s Box, you’re already in the top 1%.

which brings us to our next point, so do pay attention.

a crucial realization everyone, including you, should know.

too many of us are optimizing and prioritizing the wrong things.

we’re too focused on gaining so much knowledge from consumption instead of actually implementing it for our own benefit.

according to Aristotle, he said:

“the purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge.”

and it all makes sense.

too many of us like to stack up on knowledge for the sake of becoming “dangerously educated.”

learning everything to the T, learning all the different nuances, and learning the entire theory of the topic you’re studying.

now don’t get me wrong, education and gaining knowledge does play a crucial role in progress.

but if you don’t know who, what, where, when, and how to apply the knowledge you’ve earned, you’re a sitting duck.

the true needle mover is when you can rewire your brain to optimize for progress.

most don’t get this, most never will. but luckily for you, you’re an exception.

pay attention closely.

i’ve mentioned this a dozen times before, but it’s never been more important now.

our nervous systems have a mechanism called, neuroplasticity.

in short, the more you repeat a certain behavior, the more the neural pathway for that same behavior is myelinated, or strengthened.

do it enough times then it becomes a habit, then automatic.

the behavior you strengthened essentially becomes second nature. it just becomes as easy as brushing your teeth. it’s routine for you.

now, here’s the problem.

we’ve normalized strengthening pathways for endless consumption to the point where it becomes automatic. it’s becoming second nature to continue educating yourself and so you trap yourself in this endless loop before really starting anything.

so if there’s anything I want you to take away, it would be this:

the only way to really break out of this loop is to optimize for progress.

repeat the action of continuously starting anyway despite not being ready to the point where it becomes a habit. when it’s solidified as a habit, the neural pathways for action and execution become automatic the more you repeat this.

this is what separates good individuals from individuals from excellence.

when too many are stuck at the starting line waiting for the next package of knowledge to come their way, you’re already running laps around others.

optimizing for progress breaks you from the shackles of perfectionism, analysis paralysis, and indecision.

this is the crucial shift you need from passive consumption.

“the creation of the world did not occur at the beginning of time, it occurs every day.” - Marcel Proust

for the modern Pandora’s Box, we can’t forget about hope as well, which is creation itself.

it’s trapped, hidden, and buried in this world like it’s becoming a lost art. but the good news is, each and every one of us have the capability to reclaim it.

here’s the value that we’re forgetting when it comes to creating.

when you create or develop something, you develop experience for yourself.

you gain something consumption alone cannot fulfill. with experience you gain data, feedback, information that can help expose mistakes, find out what really works and double down on them, and the most important part:

expanding your knowledge of the world itself.

in addition, you also build self-autonomy, critical thinking, and authenticity which completely counteracts the conforming nature of endless consumption.

instead of letting algorithms think for you, you instead think for yourself.

these are the things consumption alone cannot replicate even a fraction of.

but let’s really put things into perspective.

when you’re creating literature, writing novels, or poems, you’re building worlds that expand the depth of human imagination.

when you’re creating a business or service, you’re building something that benefits the masses while also benefiting yourself too. everyone wins.

when you’re creating a community, you’re building a genuine second family that fosters growth for everyone in that circle. we’re naturally tribal creatures, so

you get the idea.

and a personal story, I’ve consumed so much content for more than two years.

my closest friends have seen some of it themselves, my Notion pages full of notes, my Obsidian notes, the way I express my ideas on topics I’ve educated in.

all as a result of consumption.

but when I was inspired to start creating, hence writing on this publication three months ago, I’ve genuinely learned a lot more writing these articles than in two years of studying pure theory.

as a person my knowledge base expanded almost exponentially without even realizing it myself. i’ve grown exponentially and built a community like no other platform in such record time. and i’ve developed my articulation a ton after consistently putting out informational articles.

it’s genuinely a good kind of scary how far I’ve come with this. especially when you can optimize for progress instead of knowledge. i’m truly grateful.

this is the exact hope that is trapped in the modern Pandora’s Box.

the beauty of it is, anyone and everyone can do what I’ve done, but not only that, to create great things for themselves and to benefit the world too.

the capabilities of human imagination is genuinely limitless.

so we have to break free from the imbalance of consuming more than creating, because it’s genuinely doing us more harm than good.

don’t forget about the beauty that creation is.

we need to stray towards our evolutionary purpose, not away.

this is one of the most important sections in this article, so do pay attention.

it’s also important to consider what you’re creating in particular, not just creation for the sake of creating.

acknowledge that everyone has different belief systems, goals, moral foundations, and perspectives.

some people create for the sake of benefiting others.

while others create for the purpose of benefiting themselves only.

and this brings up an important distinction for creation in itself, it’s a double-edged sword.

but really do consider that yielding all the gifts of life come with benefiting others. the joy of helping another person. the pleasure of making ones day better with your own expertise.

that feeling and these moments are genuinely priceless.

it’s something that cannot be bought with materialistic things.

and coming to really think about it, we do live in one of the most advantageous and highest leverage generations out there.

we can learn anything, at any time, on demand. the abundance of knowledge we have at our disposal can either help us become greater, or stagnate into a state of paralysis from the illusion of progress.

so it’s important to use what we know right now for the greater good of helping the world become a better place.

but let’s really look at the cup half full here.

look at all the inventions and technological advancements from history that have benefited humanity.

without them, we wouldn’t be in this position.

you shouldn’t be any different from those who created these milestones.

i’m not saying that you should reinvent the wheel here. but at least aim to make a mark and leave a legacy behind you.

create a life worth living, a life where you’re remembered for what you’ve done to help others and the community around you.

i know I’m trying my best to do so.

getting all the love and support from my writing, seeing all the comments and DMs saying that I’ve changed lives, that I’m helping people tremendously, and that i’m a huge inspiration is something that money can’t buy.

that feeling of impacting the world through creating is unbeatable, it genuinely is.

and I want you to feel the same way.

there’s an imbalance in this generation that is prioritizing consumption over creation.

endless content and hyper-personalized algorithms are the culprit, being unleashed onto the world like Pandora’s Box.

this brings forth productive procrastination, optimizing for knowledge instead of progress, and an open loop of stagnation that is difficult to close.

and the only hope that we can reclaim is to prioritize creation again, something that is an evolutionary gift throughout the course of human history.

whether you’re someone that is an active user on any social media platform, even Substack, you need to be aware of what endless consumption can do.

while at the same time, you should create something long lasting. something of value that benefits others and yourself.

it is an art to build something from nothing, reinvent yourself, and mold worlds together that we haven’t conceived yet.

because there is no limit to our own imagination and capabilities.

so ask yourself this question,

will you make a mark on this world in your own life? or will you be caged by the very illusion of progress that’s holding us back?

i know I’m doing my part in making a mark, and so should you too.

so write that poem, work on that novel, build that business, continue that project, finish that art piece, complete that article, develop that skill further, create that portfolio, make new friends, and cook that new recipe.

the world needs creators like you.

don’t forget that.

if you loved this article, you’ll love my other articles here, give them a read: