Empty Consumption

“Work is the only thing that gives substance to life” – Albert Einstein*

I recently heard US Senator, Ben Sasse, discuss the dangers of viewing consumption over production as a desired goal. He communicates the innate desire created within human beings to produce value and highlights the dysfunction that comes when individuals lose that balance between production and consumption and become primarily a consumer.

Consumption often leads to a very empty state of being. I see this every day in my work. Just as an example, our society has an errant view of “retirement” as a chance to turn off one’s creative efforts, sit back, coast and enjoy leisure. While this can certainly be part of one’s goal, and financial freedom should create more flexibility to have that precious down time, severe problems arise when “not working” becomes the overarching life goal and an end in and of itself. We see this in micro form in people who are always trudging from Monday through Friday, just to make it to the weekend. Again, not working becomes an end goal. It’s as if our culture is working to quit.

If we were to view “retirement” not as a cessation of production, but as the flexibility to produce and create in an even more meaningful and impactful way, I wonder how that would change our outlook and journey along the way. What would your life look like if you weren’t working to quit, but working towards finding even more meaning and fulfillment in your tasks? What if deep, meaningful work was not a just a means to an end, but an end goal itself?

*Good ol’ Al was fairly intelligent dude, perhaps he was on to something here. I can’t think of anything truly valuable in my life that isn’t wrapped in effort and hard work.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on...

The Art of Intentionality

“Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others’ choices make you.” – Richie Norton I am not even sure who Richie Norton is, but I love that quote! I imagine a ship drifting out to sea, pushed around by the wind and the waves. No course of direction, yet the captain is frustrated when the ship ends up dashed against the rocks, trapped on a sandbar or marooned on an inhospitable island. It is easy to complain when life takes us where we do not want to go. But who is really to blame if we have never set our sails to align us along an appropriate course? Do we blame the waves, wind and the weather? Or should we blame the captain of the ship? It is our life and our ship. We must set our sails with intentionality and determined choices. Otherwise, we are doomed to aimlessly drift along according to the choices and decisions of others.

Last Chance

This morning I was running on the treadmill with an empty treadmill right beside me. This is nothing out of the ordinary since I intentionally plan my workouts at times when the gym is not busy. However, this time that empty treadmill meant much more than just a slow time at the gym. About three weeks ago I was on the same treadmill as I was this morning, and my friend J was on the treadmill beside me. I was cooling down from my workout and just able to catch my breath enough to chat with J for a while. We shared a couple of laughs, talked about some struggles, and then went our separate ways. How was I to know that would be the last time I would ever see him? Three nights ago, I received a text that J had passed away earlier that evening. J is a big, strong guy in his mid-40s, and his passing came as a complete shock. I sat on the couch in stunned silence as I digested the tragic news. This morning, the sight of that empty treadmill hit me hard. J will never walk beside me...

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog