I just realized something about myself. I get really excited about new projects that I start and immediately want to forget about the other thing I was working on. But I’m thankful that I do see projects through to the end, even when I get excited about something new. I think that’s a distinguishing quality of people that are successful. They can see things through to completion. Which is a tricky task especially when you’re a creative because new things hit you in such a sporadic way. You never know when you’re gonna be smacked with a ton of inspiration and that deluge of inspiration is not always related. It’s a new song, a new book, a different blog, a new episode. And it all happens while you’re right in the middle of working on something that’s only half-completed; or worse, something that’s almost fully completed.
I think that’s where a lot of people go wrong and where discipline comes in. I think most artists and creative people are naturally a bit A.D.D. and distracted. That might be the biggest battle we can face. Just staying focused on a task long enough to complete it. Depression doesn’t help in this arena either.
So, how do you naturally stand up to such looming giants as you try to complete your heart’s work?
Well, I will always stand behind the use of medicine for diagnosed A.D.D. and depression symptoms. Not self-medication, but sitting with the right doctor or doctors and finding something that works with your body’s chemistry. I will say this, though. It’s not just medicine that will get you to that finish line of an important task. Medicine is less than half the battle. The rest is good old fashioned will power.
The best thing you can do when you’re being bombarded with inspiration is to write it all down and get back to it after you’ve finished the thing you were initially working on
A really important piece for continued success is to show yourself that you can successfully accomplish things. If your life is full of half-projects, whether they’re books or college degrees, get something done. You have to show yourself that you can. The success of that project as well as any future success you hope to achieve rests within finishing that which is unfinished.
We have to show ourselves we can. It’s just that simple. It’s easy to understand, hard to do.
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