Why Consuming Is Necessary for Creating

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It’s easy to pit creativity and content consumption against each other. However, both are necessary and complementary to one another. You can find out more here: www.spencerauth...
We often hear the distinction between creativity and consuming as if these two acts are diametrically opposed. It’s the idea that we should spend our time making rather than taking. But the best creative thinkers are always borrowing ideas and influences from what they consume.
However, creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When you look at makers, they are often critical consumers of the same type of work they create. Chefs love great meals. Musicians listen to music. Architects often visit new cities and tour buildings to find inspiration. Filmmakers watch videos. Engineers often study objects within their world. Computer scientists view other people’s lines of code.
In other words, creative types consume what they love.
There’s often this ongoing cycle that starts with critical consuming. This consuming is intentional and mindful. Here, you are asking questions and seeking out new ideas. You’re curating information and geeking out on your craft. This leads to inspiration. You might mash-up multiple ideas or take a different angle or a fresh perspective to a problem. Often, you plan and design. But sometimes you play and experiment. This, in turn, leads to creative work. This could involve solving a problem, planning an event, creating art, building a system, or planning an event.
But the more you create, the better you understand your craft, which leads to a deeper ability to consume critically, where they find more inspiration, and the cycle continues. Often, students will go through specific stages from consuming to creating.