How to Create Beauty

Nowadays, most people go through their whole life with one goal: consuming.

The newest car.

The newest iPhone.

The newest clothes.

Then they move on to post it on Instagram to get a dopamine rush for their likes. Sound familiar?

There are many issues with this which I won’t cover right now. What I will tell you today is how moving from consuming to creating (and how to do that) will give you the ability to buy all these flashy things. Only to realize it isn’t what you were searching in the first place.

The Shiny-Object Syndrome

I get it, the awesome feeling of firing up your new car for the first time. Or playing around with the new iPhone. Yes, it’s great. I am not a robot, I feel that. The issue is that it is an illusion. It’s called the shiny-object syndrome. Always needing to have the newest stuff.

You’re not really searching for something new just cause. You’re searching for the dopamine from two things: Beauty and Success

Look, when you buy something new, it is usually beautiful. In whatever measurement the current society values this. You wouldn’t go out and buy a ratchet old car. And if you have to, you don’t feel the same rush of awesomeness when you buy it.

It’s probably because you have to buy it.

Same thing with new clothes. You buy them to make you look better. To be more beautiful. (Again, since you are on the AoP’s blog, you value a different kind of beauty than society, and I am with you on that, but you get my point).

The second thing besides beauty you are seeking is success.

The fact that you CAN afford to buy that beautiful new thing is a testament to your success. Whatever it was, you made enough money to be able to buy it. It is a showcase of your success for yourself, a reward, and, well, you’ll brag in front of your friends.

However, society indoctrinated a totally destructive, and misguided form of dopamine rush into you. Yes, buying new shiny things gives you a quick boost and feel-good moments. But it’s not only pretty expensive of a “hobby” to keep, it’s also always very short-lived. After 2 weeks the iPhone is already the old iPhone. The new car is already dirty and used.

It’s still a good feeling, but it wears off quickly. And that’s because you focus on the wrong beauty and success.

Creators are Free

Real beauty and success are achieved when you create it. Not when you consume. Before you chicken-out immediately since you think you “can’t” create any of this, let me tell you something. Michelangelo made thousands of paintings. And we only know of a few because they became famous. The others certainly aren’t ugly, but they’re not what he was known for. But that doesn’t matter.

It is irrelevant if what you create will ever be successful or not. What matters is how YOU feel while doing it. When you create something, the beauty lies in doing it. The process of making something out of nothing. Pure creation. And the success comes once you finished it. At that point, it doesn’t even matter if it looks good, or if you scrap it right away.

You created something.

You added to the world instead of taking from it. You are ahead of 99% of people who are mindless consumers. The first step of balancing out your life. And if you really care about being successful with selling it (see the difference?) then you just need to keep creating, and one of your creations will eventually be successful.

That said, once you are there, you won’t care so much about the money anymore. Because you learned to enjoy the process of creation itself.

Let me tell you my personal story with this.

Creation is messy before it becomes beautiful

I have started many endeavors with the sole goal of making money. Crypto-currencies, designing websites, selling books, etc. All of these things I could’ve made a ton of money with if I decided to stick with it. However, I was searching for something deeper. Until I ended up with writing. Because I love it. And I had topics to talk about (masculinity and mindset), so that worked out.

There is something to it. To create the written word which can move millions of people. Or nobody. Just depending on which words you used. If you ever had your mind blown by a book it’s because the words were carefully crafted to portray the idea gloriously. If you just formulate an idea with a few points and clean words, it has no emotion.

No beauty.

Truly beautiful texts almost “waste time” with extravagant words (see?) and thoughtfully designed sentences and structure. Once I started to make decent money from my brand and my writing, I was already so in love with crafting beautifully written text that I couldn’t be bothered about the money.

Granted, I developed my mindset along the path as well. That certainly played a role. But whenever I am writing my books, blog posts (like this one), or Tweets, I enjoy the process of it.

I don’t care if anyone post or Tweet goes “viral.” My success and beauty were already achieved. By now you probably already came to the correct conclusion. When you create, not only does it make you feel better and lasts forever, you can also make money with it.

Whereas when you consume, it is pretty short-lived and it costs you money. Which one do you think is more sustainable long-term?

Next, you might be wondering what you can create? It doesn’t matter.

When you start out you will be bad at most things you try.

“The fool is the precursor to the Saint.” - Jordan B Peterson

My first texts were laughably bad and boring to read. Now, since you’re still here reading this, 1,000 words in, I’d say I got better. Just try a few things, learn to enjoy the process which is beauty. Acknowledge the finished creation which is the success. If you do it right, it will also create material success.

But your mind will already be free.

This was a guest post by Alexander. He specializes in Mindset and Masculinity.

You can follow him on Twitter @selfconquering or go to his website www.selfconquering.com