Inspiration and Infatuation: the Dream Killers

Inspiration is to completion what infatuation is to marriage

Inspiration and infatuation are invaluable and necessary in the beginning. Those warm fuzzy feelings of excitement and unbridled hope for a boundless future are what drive you to start. Newness is exciting in an ever-increasingly monotonous life, where wonder and curiosity has been sacrificed at the hands of convenience. 

We find great thrill in a new project because we are learning and creating and exploring this world (or relationship) just as much as we hope our readers will. What secrets are hiding? What fun facts will spill out at the most inoppurtune time? Keep going to find out!

But those things quickly fade when you realize that to reach an end goal, to create something lasting, you need more than curiosity and a fluttering in your chest. 

You need devotion. 

You need to spend time,  consistently learning this new world you're creating. You have to ask yourself what the end goal is. What do you want? How do you want to feel? What is the purpose of this whole thing? Id the effort to answer your own questions worth the time and energy expended? 

Infatuation is not understanding, it's attraction. It's wonderful to. But when it wears off there needs to be a foundation of love and wanting to learn on a deeper level. Infatuation is what makes you ask the questions, but devotion is what makes you stick around with the answers. 

When we start a new project, the possibilities are endless. We are making up the rules and doing whatever we want. But at some point all the rules are made up. And then you have to decide if you xan work inside those parameters, or if you need to go outside them. And if you need to go outside them you might need to change them. And if the parameters.need to change then maybe it would be better to just scrap the idea and start in a new sandbox where you aren't cornered into making decisions based on ideals you don't like.

When in a relationship you will eventually realize there are things you don't like, about yourself, about the other person, about the life you have created, and how they now fit into it. It can cause confusion and frustration, and it's hard to know if it's your fault, or theirs, or life's. 

And then if you look outside, you start to see the success of others. You can what to change. Maybe starting over is the right thing to do. Maybe if you just found a better partner everything would be perfect. 

And sometimes that's the right decision. Sometimes a love interest is a poisoned piece of chocolate. Sometimes the wrapping is prettier than the delicacy within. Sometimes it isn't even the chocolates fault, but the fact that you are hungry for a grilled cheese. 

When we have reached this stage where the rose glasses have cracked, we have to see the project for what it is, and decide if sticking with it is the right decision. And it is crucial in this time to look down at the glasses and remember that you will put them right back on if you hop to the next thing. 

So what do you really want? Do you want it to be easy, or do you want to complete the mission? Do you want to feel good all the time when writing, or do you want to say in a year that your manuscript is finished? Do you want to say that you're taking a break from writing, or that you're taking a break while your editor is working? 

You have to fight fiercely for what you want. Your heart will always scream for the easier option. It's trying to keep you safe and alive. But sometimes, you have to be right on the edge to live. And you have to commit to it before things get hard, because you're never going to be able to do it at that point. 

So take stock: 

do you want this? 

is it hurting you or just flexing your apathetic muscles?

will you regret this?

will completing it be harder than wishing you had for the rest of your life? 

will you admit that sacrifice and devotion isn't just good, but necessary to have success? 

If you agree, good luck! You've got a long journey ahead of you now. Devoting yourself to a goal doesn't make it any easier. In fact, it can make it harder. But it will ultimately be worth it.