013: Consuming Carefully

Do you pay attention to how you’re consuming? What about the things that you’re consuming? If not, you’ll definitely want to hear this episode as I explore consuming carefully.
I hope this episode will serve as an invitation for you to step back, take a look at what is coming into your life and into your tank. We all only have so much in our tank for creating but if we spend too much of our precious energy on consumption, we won’t have enough time to create.
You’ll hear my experience of camping (or glamping) with my family and how this was an eye-opening experience for me. I talk about taking inventory on your consumption, examples of inputs that you consume and questions you should start asking yourself around your own consumption.
What you’ll find in this episode:
Why I like creating with kids using chalk art
Why my family decided to get a travel trailer and a story about my experience with it
The reasons you need to take inventory of all of the inputs in your life
Examples of inputs that you consume
Questions to ask yourself around your consumption
My advice on being mindful of your ratio of creation vs. consumption
Read the transcript of the episode below:
If you are feeling weighed down or overwhelmed and who isn't right now, let's be honest. It might have something to do with how we are consuming. Today is episode 13, consuming carefully.
Welcome to the committed, to create podcast. I'm Lisa Funk, and I am so excited to hang out with you here. As we talk about the power of creating with our hands and our minds, I like to keep it real, remind you that you are not alone and share specific ways that creativity and mindfulness can help us live even more meaningful and joyful lives. I am so glad that you're here.
Hello, and welcome back to the podcast. I am so grateful that you're here. There's just like this part of me that still can't believe that anyone listens and I love to talk. So this is no surprise. Whenever I tell people I'm doing a podcast like friends and family, they're like, that's perfect for you because you love to talk.
And it really is. And I have a lot that I think about, I think a lot. And I like to learn a lot about this topic of mindfulness and creativity. And so I love doing the podcast and I'm so honored that you're here with me. So. Thanks for being here over at my house, hanging out on my big blue couch. I love having you, and I'm excited to talk today about consuming, but first I wanted to do a segment called creating with kids.
Now, as you know, I have an entire podcast episode all about creating with kids. But today, I just wanted to talk about one fun way that I love to do that. And that is with chalk art, whether you are doing sidewalk chalk, which has become so popular during quarantine. It's so fun to see so many driveways and sidewalks and streets full of chalk art.
It's beautiful. And it's just a fun, medium, and doing chalk art on chalkboards is also super fun. And if you have listened to my episode about chalk art, you know that there are lots of ways to create chalkboards and to buy chalkboards. Sometimes I like using this separate little kind of lap boards, like you would use in old school school, like when they would have their own chalkboards at their desks, you can still buy those.
I love using those and I love just grabbing some sometimes at target or hobby lobby or Michael's or Joanne. They have great, great options too. I find that it's really fun for each kid to kind of have their own. And of course you can make them as well, or by those chalkboards that they have at home Depot and have them cut into smaller pieces so that each kid can have their own and practice on their own.
And it's really fun because they can mess up and they can just erase right away. It's not a big deal. So chalk art is something that I love doing. It's also something that many of you are really enjoying the summer. We are having a major special, a major deal on our chalk art one oh one course it's on sale.
And in addition, you get the summer of chalk art with it. It comes with it. So it's basically two courses for the price of one. And that price is slashed. So if you're interested in getting that, you want to get it before the end of August. So jump and get that. It's a really fun thing to do. Together with your kids.
When you're trying to find time to create, like we talked about before a couple of episodes go, sometimes it's helpful to just do it when you're together with your family, with your kids, you don't necessarily have to find that alone time. You can do it all together. So creating with kids can be fun. And chalk art is one of my favorite ways to do that.
So that is my segment for today. Now for the topic for today, which is about consuming. I wanted to start off by telling you about my camper, our trailer. So we did the classic 2020 purchase of getting a travel trailer. We found a great deal on Craigslist. And found one that would fit our family and decided that this would be a great way to travel with our kids and get out of the heat a little bit of Arizona.
And so we've been doing some camping, I call it camping. It doesn't really feel like camping because, you know, we have a bathroom, so that doesn't really feel, it doesn't really feel applicable, but it is glamping. Maybe we can call it glamping. Anyway, I had this moment in. The trailer where I thought of this analogy.
So I wanted to share it with you. Now, if you have an RV or motor home, a trailer or anything, you already understand how they work, but all of this is very new to me. And so I'm going to explain it just in case there's someone out there who isn't really sure how this all works out. 
So most of the time what we do is we try to go somewhere where we can get hookups so we can hook up and get fresh water coming into the trailer. We can get electricity to the trailer and we can also have a sewer line basically coming out of the trailer. So any water that we use, we can have that coming back out of the trailer.
So that's quote, unquote, what they call full hookups is when you have all of those things, the fresh water coming in, the electricity coming in, and then the sewer line of all the water and wastewater and everything coming out of the trailer. Now. A lot of places have full hookups and that's great.
You can just get everything and you can just use the trailer, basically like a little house. You can run the water and do your dishes and take a shower and do whatever you want to do. And knowing that you have plenty of water coming in and you also can drain all of that water out through the sewer line, but there are also some places where they don't have full hookups.
They have partial hookups where you might get the electricity and the fresh water coming in, but you don't have that line. That's sewer line. Sorry. This is weird to talk about, but you don't have that line going out. So you can't get rid of the water that you're using. So. This was really interesting.
We stayed at a place for three nights where we were not going to be able to get rid of our water that we had used. And I behaved very differently in the trailer knowing that I didn't want to overload the tank, the tank that was going to be full of water then needed to be dumped. So I wasn't going to take a ton of showers or get, give the kids tons of baths.
Or do a ton of dishes and just let the water run because they knew it would fill up the tank. Now we did have an outside shower to kind of rinse off feet and things like that, which is helpful because that water wasn't going into the tank. But I noticed that during those few days, I, and again, I'm new to this, so I really wanted to make sure that we weren't going to overflow the tank.
I really wanted to make sure that I was really careful and mindful and intentional about what kind of usage and what kind of input was going into that tank, because I knew that it was a limited amount that could go in. And it really made me think about the consumption that we have in our lives and how much we can hold and how we want to make sure that we don't overfill our tanks.
Because if you overfill, it's not good, you can't refill it. I was thinking about this because when I was washing dishes, I never just let the water run. I would make sure that I was like doing all the washing with the soap and the sponge and everything. And then I would like hold all the silverware at once and rinse it all off together so that I wouldn't use quite as much water.
I was just really careful about how much water I was using, which of course we can always be really careful about water, but it's also okay to take a shower more than you might if you're trying to be super careful about not using the water. So anyway, it really made me start thinking about our consumption in our lives.
What do we have coming in? What are all the different ways that we can fill up our proverbial tank, if you will? And I was thinking about how careful we need to be as well with all the things that we're having as input and how it's affecting us to think about what is coming into our minds and our hearts and our souls.
So I think it's really valuable to stop and take an inventory of all the different inputs that you have in your life. I'm going to list some here, but I mean, if you really wanted to write this down, I think it would be really valuable. And if you even just go through your day or your week, and you think about all the different things that are inputs in your life, you will be able to recognize what they are, how much time you spend doing them, how they affect you, et cetera. 
So I'm just going to list several now to kind of get you thinking. So this might be things like which social media accounts that you follow or that you see what different social media platforms you log into or scroll, what books or articles or blogs that you read. The podcast that you listened to, um, only listen to the really good ones! What news or TV or movies that you watch, and also what people you are spending time with, whether that is in person or virtually. Evaluate, what is coming into your tank? What is coming into your life? And then I have some questions that I think are valuable to ask yourself.
And when I say yourself, I mean, me too. Okay. This is something that I think is valuable for all of us to take stock of and to really pay attention to. So the first question is. Is there too much input. Am I feeling overwhelmed by all that I have coming in by all that I'm consuming. And some of the ways that you might be able to tell if it's too much is obviously, like I said, if you're overwhelmed, but also to pay attention to how much time you spend consuming.
Also, if you're feeling burnt out or full of information. If that tank is all the way full and you're having a hard time processing it and working through it and really enjoying it and internalizing it or using it, it's really helpful to know. Okay. I think I have too much input right now. And like I said, that can come through all different forms, but pay attention to having that input pay attention to the amount of input that you have. The second question is. Do I like the quality and type of input is the input positive and inspiring and important? What is it that we're spending our time consuming? Is it something that we're just consuming on default?
Is it something that we're listing or reading or watching because we always have? Or because our friends do, or our spouse does, or our kids do? Think about, do I like the type of input, the quality of input than I am consuming. Question number three, three is how do I feel when I consume the input. Now, obviously this will be different depending on which thing you're thinking about, but if you were to make a list and go through the different news channels or the different social media accounts or the different articles or the TV shows or the music, or the friends, the conversations, those types of things, if you were to go through them and say, how am I feeling when I'm consuming this?
Is this something that's leading me to compare myself? Is this leading me to judge others often? Is it something that's making me feel depressed or angry or inspired or excited? How am I feeling when I am consuming each specific thing? Now of course, some of our input is going to change from day to day.
Some of it we can really control. Some of it we can't. Some of it will surprise us. Some of it will change sometimes we're like, oh, I used to love listening to that. And they've really changed what they're talking about or the way that they're speaking, or it's just not really resonating with me anymore.
So sometimes things change and some things you aren't going to know that are going to be input in your life, but for the things that are pretty regular, like the people that you follow on social media or the shows that you're watching, things like that to really take a look at them and say, How do I feel after I consume this thing?
What is the emotion that I'm feeling afterwards? And is it something that I like the fourth question that I would ask is, do I feel like this is a valuable or important thing to consume? So this goes for the things that you feel like I don't really feel like I only want to consume things that make me feel super happy and easy going all the time.
I want to read news that is hard to hear, if I feel like it's important to me to understand that for understanding current events in the world or something like that. So, I'm not saying if something doesn't make you feel elated and joyous, don't consume it. That's not what I'm saying at all. You may decide with this question number four, that there are certain things or certain people that you want as input in your life.
Even if it's not always super happy. For example, your children, your children might not make you super elated and joyous all the time. I don't know. I know it's crazy to say this and you might still want them as part of your life. This goes for a lot of relationships, of course, they're not all going to make you feel happy all the time. They're not supposed to, we're supposed to learn from them, but you might have a relationship in your life where you might say, you know what?
I am not having enough positive to outweigh the negative in this relationship. What I'm consuming from these conversations or from these topics or whatever it might be. This isn't an assumption that I want this isn't improving my life. This isn't bringing value to my life and I don't want to consume this anymore.
And that might be, like I said, with a certain relationship, which can be really tricky, but it might just be a relationship that you have with someone that you follow online, meaning that they don't know you exist necessarily, but you decide, you know what? I am not feeling great when I consume that, it makes me start to compare.
It makes me judge, it makes me focus on materialistic things that I don't really want to focus on. I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. You get to decide what's right for you. But really paying attention to what you're consuming and there might be something where you say, you know what, this thing is actually hard.
And I don't always love the way that I feel after I consume it, but I feel it's important to consume. Maybe there's a relationship. That's really tough, but you're like, this is important. And even though it leaves me not always feeling amazing, I feel that it's incredibly important and valuable. And so I'm going to keep doing it, whether that be the news or whatever it is.
Did you know that you can pick though? You like, you can decide what is right for you? I have a very sensitive soul. So it's really tricky for me to hear about in-depth like true crime is not my cup of tea. I am not interested. I could barely watch crime shows on TV without like, not, I mean, like I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Like it's really hard for me. I do feel that it's important to be informed on major topics, but I can be careful about the way that I consume that information. I can find certain sources. I can seek things out. I can have a reliable person, like my husband, let me know when something major happens and I can read about it.
And I definitely hear about things and read about things, but I don't leave a constant feed of crime or news or other things that is kind of tough for me because I have a little sensitive, I have a little sensitive soul over here. I know it's not an excuse to shut myself off from reality of the world, but we also can decide what is important to us.
And to me, I can decide what is valuable consumption and what input is helpful for me. And that is helpful for me in being informed and also making a difference and showing up in the world the way that I want to show up. So we are taking this moment here together during this episode to think about all of the input in our lives.
So question number one, is it the right amount of input question number two, is it the type of input that we want? Question number three. How does it make us feel? Question number four. Is it important to you? And then question number five that I'm going to add is what is some input that you aren't currently consuming that you would like to either add or replace?
So if you've decided, you know what, I'm spending a lot of time consuming, this one thing on default, I've just been following the certain person or maybe 50 people on default for a few years. I want to re question that I want to start with a blank slate and say, if I were going to choose to follow them today, would I do it again? Am I feeling like, what's keeping me from saying, I don't need to follow them anymore, or I don't need to watch this certain show anymore or listen to the certain podcast or whatever it might be. If it's something that you're feeling like isn't positive or really valuable input for you anymore, would you choose it again?
And if you're reluctant to let go of it, is it because you don't want to kind of be out of the loop or kind of just look at those things, ask yourself, is this really what I want? What are the reasons that I might be afraid or reluctant to let go of this input in my life? But what I like about this question, number five, about what new input you would like, it doesn't have to be new.
It could be something that you used to do, but it's something that you're not currently doing. And I think that sometimes in life, we just go on default and it's normal. It's very human. So don't feel bad if you're doing it. Cause we all do. Let me just tell ya, there's a little spoiler alert for you. We all do.
And it's good for all of us to take a moment to reevaluate what we're doing, reading, watching, and listening to and allowing into our tanks, because we want to be careful in how we fill them up. So ask yourself. Is there a type of music I really want to be listening to regularly. Do I want to find some new music too?
I have music that I used to listen to, that I loved. That made me really happy that I want to start listening to more. Do I want to start reading more scriptures or poetry or classic literature? Do I want to start watching more international films or how do I want to spend my consumption?  How do I want to allow this input to come into my life?
What types of input do I want? What quality, because it's so easy to spend most of our time on default and to not really be intentional about what we're choosing to consume. Now, I often talk about consuming in kind of a negative way. I mean, consuming can get a bad rap and I have given it a bad rap myself.
When I say be careful not to just consume, be careful and make sure that you also create and to watch your ratio. Creation versus consumption. I still stand by that because I think that we live in a society of consumption. I think that we are bombarded with media. Social media, other types of media every second of the day, and it's addicting, it's created to be addicting.
And so I think that it is important for us to be aware of consuming versus creating, because I feel that we were created to create, and I'm not just talking about painting or art. I'm talking about creating with our minds. And with our hands and with our hearts, but proactively doing things in our lives and creating, even if it's creating a moment of stillness and connection, creating things so important that I think consumption can rob us of those moments of creation.
So I definitely am still a proponent of being careful about the ratio of our consumption to a creation. However, It's important to realize that no matter what we aren't going to create 24 hours a day, every single day. So we are going to consume. And because of that, we want to be careful about what we do consume and how we consume it.
Because if we spend too much time consuming, we won't have enough time to create. With that being said, I think that there are lots of different inputs that we can consume that inspire us to create. So that's another thing to ask ourselves is what types of things can I consume that inspire me to create more and often that is when I really appreciate, and respect and value the way that someone else has created.
It inspires me to want to do the same. I know that there is a lot of music and literature and certain mentors and their words and other things that when I consume those things, I want to go and create myself. So that is consumption. That's very valuable to me. And I really pay attention to that and make sure that I'm getting a lot of that in my life and not just input that is making me feel some negative feelings now.
We only feel negative feelings because of the thoughts we're thinking, of course, but there are certain things that are more natural for me to have negative thoughts about also, because I believe that creating will bring joy. We're not going to create all day, like I said, but if we consume carefully, that being the key, we will have a life full of intention, a life full of things that we love that encourage us to behave and create in ways that we are super happy with. 
So I hope that this episode is just an invitation to kind of step back and take a look at what is coming into your life. What is coming into your tank and also pay attention to your season, the time of your life.
And there are some times when you can consume more. There are some times when you can consume different types of things. And there are other times when you only have the partial hookups, like with the travel trailer and you want to be really careful about what you consume. And for me, sometimes that's when I'm struggling with my mental health, with anxiety, with depression. I mean, I think that this, you could be super careful anytime. But I think there are certain periods where we have to be extra careful about what we're consuming and don't be afraid to cut things out. Don't be afraid to start with a blank slate and say, okay, what if I cut out everything I was consuming, all the social media, all of the shows, all of the music, all of the podcasts. If I were going to start over, not just out of habit, what would I choose again? What's really bringing value to my life. And again, that doesn't have to just be positive happy-go-lucky things as long as it's important to you and brings value to your life.
So again, I hope that's helpful and I am right there with you. I have been feeling overwhelmed and it's been really good for me to kind of take a step back and re decide what I want coming in to my tank and my life and how I want to consume carefully. I love being here on the podcast with you. I love hearing what you think and your thoughts about the episode.
The best way to do that is to leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen to the podcast. Every week I read one. And if it's yours, you get to email me to get a free online course, any one of my courses from hand lettered design.com that you get to pick for free. Hello. That's amazing. And I just want to give you a little heads up that you should go leave one because you have a really good chance.
You have a really good chance of winning right now. Let me just say that. I would really appreciate it. I know it takes a couple of minutes to do, and I just love it. I'd love to hear what you think and which episode you like or something that resonated with you or whatever today's review comes from Joe L and it says cross-generational conversation.
Lisa's podcast has become something I look forward to each week. I wish I had her advice 20 years ago when I was raising my children. However, I have found her words resonate with me just as deeply now that I'm in my early forties. Each episode gets better and better. It gives me a chance to reflect and grow as a person.
I never realized how important my inner voice has been in my decision-making over the years. And I am so grateful for her strategies to retrain it to work for me in a more positive and productive way. Thank you, Lisa. I look forward to our next blue couch conversation. 
I love that you guys know about the big blue couch and I wish you could all come over for the reels.
Come over and hang out on my big blue couch. So send me an email. If that was your review, you can email me hello@handlettereddesign.com. Also, if you are interested in trying out chalk art one oh one again, that's on major sale right now for the summer and includes two courses. And you can find that on hand lettered design.com.
I'll also include a link in the show notes. And if you are interested in stepping in further to creative mindfulness, I have a free way for you to do that. It's called five creative steps to less stress, and you can find that committed to create.com. And again, I'll put a link for that in the show notes, we've got all kinds of good stuff for you.
I love being here with you and grateful for you. You can come follow along over on Instagram. I am at hand lettered design. I love when you share your insights from the podcast and you can put them in your stories and tag me so I can see them. I love connecting with you over there. Again, I've loved being with you and I will talk to you again next week. .
Links:
009: Creating with Kids
007: Life Lessons From Chalk Art
Chalk Art 101 Online Course
Ready for a fun activity to feel less stress? Come get our FREE Guide - 5 Creative Steps to Less Stress & More Joy while it's still available!
I hope that my podcast has left you feeling inspired and excited to create the life that you want. If you’ve enjoyed listening to this podcast, I’d love for you to subscribe so you can continue to hear more. Want to get to know me better? Connect with me on my website or on Instagram to keep up with everything that is going on with me and my business.
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Jennifer L. IN LOVE!! What a perfect idea! I am a plant mama too, like Lisa. I also manage a great deal of anxiety. I got into lettering a couple years ago as a creative outlet and discovered a multitude of treasures in the lettering community! This book that Lisa created with her daughter is just perfection! It's all the feels for me! Thank you both!!!
Cinthanie C. EXCELLENT BOOK! I really enjoy taking a minute each day to slow down and apply my hand to something that is not only emotionally supportive but relaxing and fun to do!! The mantras for everyday are very helpful for me. Thank you for your work and bringing such a high quality product into my life!
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013: Consuming Carefully

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