Since I moved into my current apartment almost four years ago I don´t have access to the Internet. This means that I did not agree on a contract with an external company which provides Internet like gas or electricity. If I want to access the Internet I need to use my smartphone. If I require documents or if I need to process things like my tax income declaration, I need to activate the Hot Spot on my smartphone to access Internet on the laptop. Do I miss the regular Internet? No.
It´s not that I mind paying the cost for accessing the Internet. The point is that I simply don´t require it. I don´t have a Netflix account. I´m not watching movies or documentaries regularly. I´m not surfing on YouTube. I have 25 GB of mobile data on my smartphone which is sufficient to make video calls or watching a short video from time to time.
And here´s the outcome: Since I quit my continuous and regular Internet connection four years ago I quickly realized how much I enjoy it.
Am I´m being honest to myself?
I mentioned that I don´t require the Internet. But maybe it´s a lie. Maybe I´m simply trying to avoid a drug which I cannot handle. The point is that I´m interested in almost everything. But the content provided on the Internet is an endless content monster. It will never end. I can do what I want. But one thing is for sure: I will not be able to check out all the content out there.
Formerly, when I was having a regular Internet connection on my laptop I usually created several bookmarks with „interesting“ things. I simply bookmarked these website to process with the respective content at a later point in time. Bad point: Mostly, I did not process with the content anymore. Nowadays I guess that by bookmarking a specific website these days I simply wanted to satisfy my mind. Meaning a mind which was continuously seeking and striving for discovery. After bookmarking something I was always telling to myself: I have found something interesting on the Internet. Yeah. This piece of knowledge will help me to become a better human, earn more money and have more success in life.
The continuous strive for improvement
Actually, I still think that some of these words are true. In the past or better say in my twenties I have watched so many YouTube videos dealing with successful people. Mostly they were telling about their own life, their own characteristics and which principles they followed in order to succeed. In addition, during this time I read so many articles on specific blogs to process with my personal and self development. In this context I fully admit that by doing so partially I have increased what I wanted to achieve: Becoming a better human, earning more money and have more success in life. To sum it up, I still remember a lot of sources on the Internet from which I still really appreciate that once I detected them.
So why not simply continue with this kind of consumption? The point is that the feeling is arising that consuming this content is repetitive. Nowadays I have the feeling that I´m finally in possession of these core principles. Going forward, in order to become a better human, earning more money and have more success in life I simply need to apply them. In contrast to that, in my twenties I was mainly comparing different perspectives from different people in order to figure out my own. That´s why I was continuously searching for new content which could provide a different or let´s say a better perspective. Better means that I was searching for an easier way to become a better human, earn more money and have more success in life.
Changing from a consumer to a producer
Do I regret that in the past I spent a lot of my time consuming this kind of content? I don´t think so. As I mentioned, I´m convinced that by doing so I increased my skills in terms of the topics which I have mentioned here now for several times. However, will I regret if I resume consuming this kind of content to such an extent as during my twenties? Yes. Definitely. If I´m certain about one thing in life, then this is it.
The point is that people who consume, they do not produce. I still remember several situations sitting in front of my laptop by listening to a piece of music or a demo file written by myself. I had turned it on to finish the lyrics for it. However, after two minutes of listening without any remarkable line coming into my mind, I detected the magic Internet browser button. I still remember it saying: Hey dude. Everything you need to know to improve your life is within this icon. Click me and you will be able to obtain the knowledge of many people. They can give you profound advice on almost every topic of your choice. Together we will solve your problem. In the end, you will become a better human, earn more money and have more success in life. Just click me and experience immediate satisfaction. I´m gold.
I simply could not reject. So I started watching an interview on YouTube of a politician, musician or businessman in order to figure out the last piece of magic knowledge which I require to become rich as hell, being loved by everybody or maybe to say it in other words: To become perfect.
Avoiding the risk
Due to this behavior I have a lot of creative content on my laptop which has not yet been published. Or to point it out in a more accurate way: This behavior has been at least one negative factor which restricted me from processing with my creative work. Actually, I don´t assume that it has been the only one. Moreover, I guess that the process of procrastination is often driven by the combination of different negative factors. But in the end it does not matter.
What matters in contrast is that since four years I´m able to create a life without that drug. The drug which delivers instant satisfaction without any bad feelings occurring on the short term. There are no bad feelings because it´s not risky to watch a YouTube video. What kind of bad thing can happen by watching a YouTube video? Bad things can only happen when I go into risk. I can watch ten hours of videos which are explaining to me on how to invest. It´s risk free. What is risky and what can bring bad feelings is if I start to invest by my own with real money and the investment fails. Another example, I can listen to all of the famous musicians out there telling me on how to succeed with my music. It´s risk free. What is risky and what can bring bad feelings is if I finally release a song and it´s crap or no one is interested in.
The solution: Goal oriented consumption
So I still determine it as an important step that I was able to get rid of all these influences. In this context, by doing so I finally have changed from a consumer to a producer. However, in no way I´m saying that in general the producer life is a better life. The content I consumed in my twenties, it was amazingly entertaining and challenging on an intellectual basis. In a certain way I do not consider this time as time which has been thrown away. As a conclusion, it´s not my intention to judge consumers. Actually, I´m still a consumer from time to time. Sometimes I still spend some of my time listening to new music releases, reading articles on a blog or watching a short YouTube video. But the essential thing in here is that most of the time the consumption is goal oriented. This means that I´m searching for specific content. If I find it, I will consume it. Then I will go away. To sum it up, I got rid off the empty and mindless surfing and surveilling the Internet approach hoping to find the next hot stuff.
So the balance has simply changed. Nowadays, I´m more a producer rather than a consumer. And for myself I feel happy about it.
Holy words
That´s why I´m not missing the Internet. Now I´m forced to proceed with my creative work. If nowadays I start listening to a demo music file produced by myself in order to finish the mixing for it I have to go through it. Because there´s is no distraction anymore. If nowadays I click on the magic Internet browser button, no website will occur. Because since four years I don´t have access to the Internet. And I enjoy it.
Any thoughts on this can be sent privately to send@realthoughts.me or publicly via the comment function below
Martin