I have this wonderful new idea that I am excited about. It feels like I’m on a high and I can’t wait to change the world with it. I need to gather requirements, draft a high level plan, indicate requirements, names, administrative tasks, the list goes on. My idea is going to be a great success and I will watch the residual income flow.
30 days later… I have this great idea that is mostly different than the idea 18 days before. I feel like I’m high again and ready to change the world. The idea has some similarities to the previous idea, and I can reuse some of the foundation I’ve laid for the previous start. This one is much more interesting though.
Another 45 days… wouldn’t it be great to open a store on Grand Ave.? There is lots of foot traffic in the summer and I can do this trendy thing I’ve had on my mind. It’s completely different from the other two projects that are going slow because I also have a day job and some life maintenance requirements, but this one is season dependent so I need to focus completely on this to not lose time!
And the cycle repeats. What really happens is the magic of creativity and imagination that makes us feel ambitious is really an increase in dopamine and serotonin. When we start the cycle with a new idea and enthusiasm, we experience a bit of a high. As we move further into planning, troubleshooting and working through individual tasks that make the whole, we do not feel the same hormone surge and may even feel a drop in feel good chemicals. Without some real discipline it’s likely the first great idea will be abandoned completely; as will the 2nd, 3rd, etc. Instead we will chase a new hit of our natural stimulants and start planning something new.
tl;dr - It’s important to realize we must stick with the not fun parts of any endeavor, as any worthy endeavor will contain not fun tasks, no matter how joyous the idea may be. Scheduling small blocks of time to work on tasks and setting incremental milestones that show progress and keep motivation high are good starting points to not lose focus. Why is it that college degrees were once preferred regardless of curriculum? It showed that a person could complete a task. There are tons of us out there with winning ideas and contributions that could bring ideas to life if we could just make it through the small and mundane.