I’ve been thinking a lot about Anu A.’s post Make Something Heavy (link in comments), where she wrote:
“Creation isn’t just about output. It’s a process of becoming. The best work shapes the maker as much as the audience. A founder builds a startup to prove they can. A writer wrestles an idea into clarity. You don’t just create heavy things. You become someone who can.”
In all the hype about AI letting people create more with less effort, we lose track that our greatest creation is ourselves, choosing how we use our limited time on this earth to shape ourselves into instruments of impact. Doing hard things is how we grow our capabilities. In a world where LLMs can create endless generic output, we will have to invest in building our skills to create something unique and valuable.
This perspective that making heavy things transforms the maker leads to valuable questions like:
— What is the impact you want to have?
— What skills will you need to develop to have that impact?
— How is the work you are doing helping you become the person who can deliver that impact?
I’ve been reflecting on these questions for the last couple weeks, and it has been sobering but also clarifying in helping me reset my priorities and be more thoughtful about where I want to spend my time.
What’s something heavy that you want to create?