Yesterday out of nowhere my Macbook Pro decided to break. It was a great computer that got me through almost half a decade of work. However, upon breaking I was met with the decision, what should I buy next?
I immediately opened the Apple store on my phone and began browsing.
Macbook Air, nah, they're for everyday people.
Macbook Pro, this looks more like it.
I continued on my search and began speccing out the laptop.
Now that I'm getting serious with my work I should get the 16 inch. + $700
I definitely need more memory just to be sure it runs as fast as possible. + $600
Oh, and storage. I'll definitely need more of that, you never know right? + $300
Before I knew it the laptop originally advertised as starting at $2499 had clocked up to $5000.
I grabbed my card and made my way to the checkout. I began entering my shipping and card details until suddenly it hit me.
Hold up, do I really need this? I only ever edit basic videos, browse the web, code here and there and use photoshop and illustrator for basic tasks.
The realisation hit my ego.
But I'm a pro, I need the best of the best right?
Do you really though?
At that moment I realised I'd fallen for it. I bought the dream—well technically the Macbook was still sitting in my cart, but you know what I mean.
I realised I was doing this my whole life. I'd equate having good gear with good output. I thought if I had the best camera, computer and whatever other bullshit I fell for, I could become the best.
I remembered the comment that started the pattern when I began posting pictures on the internet at twelve years old.
"You will never be a professional with that camera, your photos suck. You need to use something like a Canon 5D if you're really serious."
At the time I thought nothing of it and assumed he was probably right.
Professionals use expensive equipment and I'm obviously not a professional.
However, as I began to grow over the years as a creator, I slowly started to realise that gear doesn't mean shit. If you suck at storytelling, no one is going to care. You can have the world's biggest budget, best cameras and still fail—take a look at some of the movies coming out of Hollywood these days.
If you are good enough, you can use what you have, and make it work. Don't fall for the illusion that making that purchase is going to turn you into the dream version of yourself. At the end of the day it's a tool and it should be treated as such.
I was ashamed of being like everyone else. I didn't want to be basic. Which meant I had to have the pro and the max instead of the entry-level.
All of this shit is bullshit. Keep in mind there are some caveats to this and obviously there are benefits to having higher quality equipment. However, in general in today's day and age most of the tech coming out is pretty good—even at an entry-level.
So next time you think about buying the pro version of something ask yourself
Am I buying this because I genuinely need it, or am I buying it to feel something?
Anyway, I'm signing off. I'm about to go buy myself a Macbook Air.