The Cycle Of Unfulfillment

Before we get into this, I have a quick note.

If this cycle is going to resonate with you, it’s because you are a creative person. Creative people, by nature, have trouble finding fulfillment. We jump from idea to idea without so much as a glance backwards. Right when a vision is its closest to fruition, we bail.

One day, I’ll have the discipline to get past phase 3 and develop the research on this cycle, but for now…

Phase 1:

You come up with a new idea. You love ideas! They are sexy and pure. Out of the corner of your eye, it winks at you. You melt. Abandoning all else, you take the jump and fall hard.

Phase 2:

You pour your heart and soul into the idea. This Idea is the one that will change your life, the one which will make all your dreams come true. Nobody loves you like your new idea. The two of you spend late nights, early mornings, and walks in the park together.

Life is but a dream.

Phase 3:

You start to get a little bored of your idea. Sure it’s still sexy, but it turned out to be pretty high maintenance. Turns out it’s a lot of work to get an idea into reality. You long for the time when you were first in love.

Your mind starts to wander, until all of a sudden:

Phase 4(?):

You come up with a new idea. You love ideas! They are sexy and pure….

Every single artist, author, and entrepreneur goes through these phases. We do it like clockwork. We do it like it’s our job.

There is, however a big difference between the successful creative and the potential creative.

Successful creatives break the cycle.

Successful creatives finish.

— TB