Episode 742: Create Before You Consume – A Daily Practice That Changes Everything (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT742 – Create Before You Consume – A Daily Practice That Changes Everything

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

[00:00:33] 

Hey everyone. Welcome back to another mindset episode of Eat Blog Talk. Thank you for joining me. So happy you’re here. I hope you’re having a wonderful day and week. In today’s episode we are going to talk about creating before you start consuming. A daily practice that could potentially change everything for you. I hope it does.

[00:00:55]   

Today’s episode is a little nudge for you. It’s a moment to pause. It is a tiny reset for your creative soul and also for your entrepreneurial brain. I know we all need those resets from time to time. We live in a world that feeds us content 24/7 if we allow it. Emails, posts, podcasts, books, notifications, DMs, texts, calls.

[00:01:26]   

Oh my goodness, I could go on and on. So many things are trying to get our attention before we even wake up and get going for the day. It is super easy to reach for our phones first thing in the morning and start scrolling or looking at email and to see what everyone else is doing before we’ve even checked in with ourselves.

[00:01:47]   

But here is the shift that I want to talk about today. If the first thing I do is consume, then I’m already living in reaction mode. But when I create first, even if it’s something really small, I step into the role of being a leader, a visionary, and a creative artist. It is such a simple shift, but it changes everything.

[00:02:14]   

So we’re going to talk through that today. First of all, the why behind this? Why create first before you consume? When you create before you consume, you are anchoring your energy before it gets influenced. You wake up fresh. You’re a clean slate. Let’s take advantage of this. You set the tone for the day in a good way instead of absorbing everyone else’s tone and urgency and noise and clutter.

[00:02:46]   

Another reason to create first is to strengthen your voice. Whether it’s writing you’re creating or recording something, or outlining an idea, or producing art of some sort. Whatever it is that you do before taking in others content trains your mind to trust your own perspective and strengthen your voice. Another reason why we should create first is to build self trust and momentum.

[00:03:19]   

Just 10 minutes of output, whatever that might be, can unlock flow for the rest of the entire day. And most importantly, it helps you to become a vessel instead of a sponge. It helps you to remember your ideas don’t need to be perfect or polished even. They just need to be yours. Most of us are stuck in that default input loop.

[00:03:48]   

We wake up and react to all the things, text scrolls to other people’s priorities. It feels productive, but it’s actually passive. Creating first gives your day an override. Suddenly you’re in the driver’s seat and you’re not merely a passenger at the whim of other people. Let’s talk about what creating first can look like.

[00:04:14]   

This is not about cranking out a finished blog post or a perfect reel by 7. That’s not what we’re discussing here. It’s more about activating your creative current or flow early and very intentionally. I put together a few ideas. You can take these and run with them or create some of your own. A five minute journal entry.

[00:04:39]   

Write a paragraph or a sentence about what you’re feeling, dreaming or planning. I have been doing this all summer and it’s been so fulfilling. After I work out, this is the first thing I do every single day. You could record a quick voice memo for yourself. So record a, I don’t know, a rough podcast idea or an idea for a reel.

[00:05:03]   

Or you can expand a thought that floated to you in the shower that morning. Whatever it is, get your voice into memo form. You could open a draft. Is there something creative that you’re writing or working on that you could just open and touch? Even if you only write a sentence, that energy will compound over time.

[00:05:26]   

What about sketching or creating a mind map? Draw your next project visually. Instead of writing out words, you could draw a picture of it before you jump into the words. Or you could just doodle or sketch to loosen your brain up a little bit. Set your intention. So if nothing else, just sit quietly and ask, what do I want to create today?

[00:05:47]   

There’s so much power in just putting that question out there. You don’t need an hour for this. So don’t get overwhelmed thinking that you need to set aside a large chunk of time. Because you don’t. You simply need a sliver of space before the scroll starts, before the noise happens, before the world tells you what it needs from you.

[00:06:09]   

And if you want to take it a little bit deeper, you can ask yourself, what am I building? Let that question shape you as you create. One word, one sketch, one little decision at a time. Let’s talk about tangible ways to help you stick with it. Here’s how to make a create before you consume, practice sustainable.

[00:06:33]   

Set your phone in a different room. Temptation massively loses its grip when it’s not sitting right next to your bed on your nightstand. Create a start ritual so something to signify that you are starting. That could be as simple as lighting a candle or getting yourself a drink of water or playing a certain song that lights you up.

[00:06:55]   

Whatever it is, this will be a signal to your body and to your mind. Here’s the moment where I tune in use the 10 before tech rule spend 10 minutes digging into your creative time before you do anything else with tech. That could be journaling anything we’ve already talked about before. Opening email or social media or your computer.

[00:07:20]   

Use a visual tracker. I love doing this. This helps me stay aligned so well. You can make it playful. You could put a calendar on the wall or on your desk, check it each day, log what you need to log every day. You could use, post it notes, whatever you decide. You’ll be able to watch your consistency build in the smallest ways over time.

[00:07:42]   

Also reframe what actually matters. You don’t need to get it perfectly, you just need to tune in, listen to what needs to be created through you, and follow through on that. You could also try trying this with a friend. So invite a friend or an accountability partner to join you in this endeavor.

[00:08:06]   

You could text each other each morning after you do your creative time, of course, saying created first. Or you could have a little key phrase that you use. That one sentence could be your shared commitment to each other and it can really help to shift everything. Accountability is so huge. That’s all I have for you today.

[00:08:26]   

I hope this inspired you a little bit to create before you consume every morning. So right here, right now, I want you to ask yourself, what would change if I became the source instead of the seeker? What if my own voice was the first one I heard every morning when I woke up?

[00:08:48]   

You don’t actually need more time. You need space. You don’t even need to feel inspired. You just need to show up. And if you forget or miss a day, no guilt, no shame, no restart. Just keep going. Creating is not a streak. It’s a returning to what you know your soul needs. Let today be the first day you create before you consume.

[00:09:16]   

Try it. Do it once today and then do it again tomorrow that tiny shift is going to create a massive ripple. I hope you loved this episode. Thank you for coming back here for these mindset episodes. If you have any topics you would love to hear about, reach out to me [email protected] and don’t forget to watch on YouTube. Thanks everyone and I’ll see you next week. Thank you so much for listening to.

[00:09:40]   

This mindset and self care episode. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube, so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you there.

Outro 

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self care episode. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube, so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you there.