A few months ago I had an interesting conversation with a friend where we talked about the notion of giving back and making a positive impact on the world around us. Eventually we boiled it down to the idea of consuming versus producing, and the idea has stuck with me since and has somewhat re-framed how I look at my life.
What do I mean by these two concepts?
Consuming
I think of consuming as actions in our lives which, abstractly speaking, take away more than they give back. This includes all sorts of things such as driving a car somewhere (using gasoline/emitting chemicals into the air), throwing out food, buying new things (creating more waste once the item eventually falls out of use), the list goes on. However, the interesting thing is that a lot of these actions also aren’t inherently bad. For example, driving a car somewhere is perfectly understandable; sometimes you make an honest mistake and get too much food; you buy something because it gives you a lot of practical value or it brings you joy every time you use it.
It becomes relatively clear that consuming nothing while living in our modern world is close to impossible. The one way to do this (that I can think of) would be to go completely off the grid—growing all of your own food, being completely self-sustaining, that sort of thing—but even then you would have to leave behind things like electricity in your home (so as to not consume electricity). It would be difficult, and it’s also not a life that many people would want to live.
If zero consumption is not feasible, then what? Are we all just taking too much and soon we’ll be left with nothing? Maybe, but I don’t think that’s the right train of thought.
Not all consumption results in a net negative outcome or something being permanently lost. For example, you can pick kale from a garden and more will grow back; you can eat a fruit and let it compost or grow into a new plant; you can buy a used cast iron pan, maintain it well, and pass it on to the next person. Based on my definition above, this may not even be consumption at all, and some might serve better as examples of producing.
Producing
Producing is the opposite of consuming—these are actions which have a net positive effect overall. Like consuming, this also includes a broad spectrum of things, such as volunteering for a non-profit, improving the condition/state of physical or abstract things (e.g., making a process more efficient), and passing your knowledge onto others.
Here’s the relationship I’ve observed between consuming and producing. At a high level, people consume mainly out of necessity; they do things day-to-day which they need to do in order to live their life (and survive). Producing, on the other hand, is entirely optional. There’s no pressing need to do it, and some people may not do much of it at all.
So if there’s no need to produce, why even do it? There’s no right answer, but here’s my take:
Producing gives you a certain fulfilment and satisfaction which consuming simply can’t. Consuming can lead to short-term satisfaction (for example, from buying something new) but producing can lead to long-term fulfilment. Think about it:
- You do something that no one told you to do,
- It helps out the world around you (whether that be one or more people, the environment, or whatever else), and
- These positive effects can be traced back to you.
That’s a pretty good feeling.
Balance
Given the two concepts above, how should they co-exist? We know that one essentially must do a non-zero amount of consumption and an optional amount of production, but what should the goal be? What’s the ideal balance?
Again, I think there’s no right answer here and the answer will depend on the person. Some may decide to minimize their consumption; others may decide to lean in heavily on production; some may split the difference and do a bit of both. I can’t give you the definitive right answer, but I can tell you what my goal is.
In a nutshell, my goal is for my overall actions to be net positive. This means what I produce outweighs what I consume, or, in equation form:
\[\sum \text{production} > \sum \text{consumption}\]I want to reduce my consumption to an extent, but my main focus will be on increasing my production. After making this mindset shift a few months ago, I can say that the effect has been positive on not only my surroundings, but on me as well. I still have a ways to go though, as I would say my consumption still greatly outweighs my production. That’s part of the reason I wrote this post: to hold myself accountable.
Having a net positive effect on the world seems like a good way to live, and that’s what I’ll strive for. If this sounds appealing to you, think about what you can do in your own life to make this happen—and maybe we can make our world just a little bit better.