I've talked about how important it is to create but I've never talked about why. I don't think people understand why it's better to create than consume.
I consume a lot, so I know how pleasurable it is. I read almost constantly and can always entertain myself by reading. My primary method of procrastination is reading. I'm almost never bored.
I'm going to compare creating versus consuming.
Creating is harder, it's easy to procrastinate. I feel that I need to create something, and there needs to be a final version, but I feel that this assumption is not true.
Thinking about the benefits of consuming, I'm not bored. I feel that I'm learning something. But at the end of the day, there's nothing to show for it.
Consuming can be the raw material for creating. I like taking content I've consumed and synthesizing it into new ideas.
But what benefits do I get out of creating? Most obviously, but perhaps the least important, if you create something that someone else finds valuable you can sell it for money.
Creating allows you to find your tribe. By creating, you naturally have skin in the game - you've spent time, money, effort. Whatever you create is evidence of that. It's credibility. It's a clear signal of what you like and your skills. Other people with the same inclinations and work ethic will gravitate to you.
Creating also has internal benefits. Creating gives you a focus where you apply all the skills you learn. Your consumption will also be concentrated on whatever you're creating.
You also learn by doing. By creating, you're naturally accelerating your learning.
Creating also moves you from the abstract to the concrete. Making something concrete makes it easier to get feedback and start a flywheel of improvement.
In Drive, Daniel Pink, talks about three factors of motivation - Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. I believe that creating intrinsically has these three pillars.