One of my favorite things to do is consume. I love to read. Eat. Drink red wine. Watch reruns of Downton Abbey and The Great British Baking Show. Listen to podcasts. Look at Instagram. Read the Wall Street Journal. And the obituaries in our local paper. I mean who doesn’t?
- Some consuming is educational. We learn.
- Some consuming is relaxing. We take care of ourselves.
- Some consuming is essential to life. We have to eat.
- Some consuming has a net negative effect. Like drinking too much wine. It’s called a hangover.
- Some consuming is at the expense of the work we need to be doing. My coach calls that buffering. Others call it procrastination.
Consuming rarely offers value to others.
Creating is where our power lies.
- Creating content, programs, and connections.
- Creating meals and a picked-up home.
- Creating recipes or book manuscripts.
- Creating value and making an offer of a sale.
It’s important to balance consuming with creating.
Your clients, customers, audience, and family may thank you.
But, they may not.
Even if your creation goes unnoticed or not appreciated, you’ll know that you’re doing the work. And that’s what it’s all about.
Cookbook author and culinary dietitian Maggie Green coaches aspiring cookbook authors in the process of writing cookbooks, cookbook proposals, and building their author platform. Download her checklist “Am I Ready to Write A Cookbook?”