Three Ways to Keep Excitement Going
Ever had that great idea and thought, ‘This is going to be a wonderful book’ or ‘This book is going to change my career,’ and then sometime after that, maybe six months from that moment, two months, even two days later, the idea becomes lackluster and dies either a slow, painful death or one of attrition and decay never to be revised again?
What happened? You lost the initial excitement. It’s easy to be super-excited about something only to let that excitement wane. Why? Because the implementation of the idea requires work, and that’s where things get complicated.
Motivation is like a goldfish. If you don’t feed it, it will die. If you don’t remind yourself why you have it, you’ll start ignoring it, the water will turn green, and, again, the fish will die. When dealing with dreams and new ideas – and goldfish – we do not want anything to dwindle, weaken, and expire.
So, how do we keep this from happening?
Here are the three things that keep me going from an exciting idea to a finished product.
First, I will make a note, yes, I will write it down, of why I am excited about this project in the first place. When I feel myself losing my excitement, I will take out my slip of paper and reread it. I don’t read what the idea is. I read why I was excited about it in the first place. It is best to write these first few sentences when the idea initially overtakes you, so you write those words at the height of your excitement. When you reread the words later, you’ll remember and feel why this project was so incredible and so important.
Second, discipline yourself to put in the work even if you don’t feel like doing it today. Work is not always easy. Some aspects of it are more fun and inspirational than others. If you think of a regular job, you usually – if you expect to keep your job – don’t call in on days you don’t feel inspired and say, ‘I don’t feel like working today.’ You’d be fired, or the work that you were supposed to do that day gets pushed to tomorrow, and then, if you keep going, the work piles up, and then eventually, you become so frustrated that you can’t bring yourself to do any of it. You quit. To solve this, every day, put in the work whether you feel like it or not, whether it is fun or not, whether it is easy or not. Have discipline, and when you need the extra boost, go back to the first step above and read what excited you about the project in the first place.
Third, remind yourself where this project is going to take you. This is the carrot that is going to keep you pushing forward to the future. Every great work will have an incredible impact on your life. Fall back on your discipline in step two and be inspired by steps one (what’s so exciting) and three (how this will change your life).
Using these three steps, you’ll finish your task, run the track no matter how long it is or how long it takes you, and come out victorious in the end.
If it is important to you, it is essential to stick with it. Sticking with it is the only way to get meaningful results, results that could be crucial in changing the course of your career, your study, your opportunities, and your life.
Remember why it was so exciting. Discipline yourself to do the day's tasks even if you don’t feel like it. Remind yourself how this is going to change your life.
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