„What is this shit?“ I asked myself when I started to get anoyed by my own dream.
„I did take me a lot of time to finally find my passion and now I get sick by the very thought of putting only one more minute of work into it“
Isn’t this unfair? I had a few weeks off and free time to put all my energy in working on my dream project. It took a lot of time to get to that point. Thinking back and forth, starting new projects and abandoning them until I figured out what I wanted to do. And I was really pumped about having as much time as I want to put into it.
And I used my time. Actually all the time I had. That’s when I started to get frustrated.
I think it takes a tremendous amount of discipline to be your own boss and make yourself do the necessary work. And whatever you want to do, start you own business, start studying, become more fit or learn a new language, it will never be fun ALL THE TIME.
If you are like me and want to become a creative, then a lot of your work will stay unnoticed.
You want to get your message out and a big part of you want to be showered with admiration and compliments on your work. But thats not how it starts.
It’s not fair, but in the beginning, the amount of work you put in your project does not equal the feedback and feeling of acomplisment that you desire. If you start hating the one thing that you know you love doing then it might be time to stop for a moment. You are burned out. You spent too much time with your love.
You know at the bottom of your heart that you never want to live without your passion. But it might be the case that your project does not give you the immediate gratification you have hoped for. And as with any person you fall in love with and that does not love you back just as much – you will get mad at your love at some point.
For me it was the technical stuff that threw me off course.
I am taking my blog (the one you are reading now) to new level. I set up different languages and a newsletter-system. All new stuff to me. I spend almost a full week with youtube tutorials and wordpress even followed me into my dreams at night. Eventually I had it with the technical stuff – I did not do a single word of writing for two weeks. And it was killing me. I could not stand the sight of my blog anymore and I was desperate.
I was unhappy with the progress. I thought if I might spend more time, work harder, then it might get better. But it made me hate it even more and there was no inspiration left.
I am lucky to be in a great online community of writers who I could reach out to, who gave me this valuable advice, that worked perfectly for me.
Here is what you can do to get yourself back in the game:
- Get a litte distance from your love
Promise yourself to not work on your project for a specific amount of time, at least a day. Don’t cheat, even thought you feel unfaithfull. Do something completely different. - Finish some other stuff from your todo-list
Gain back confidence by finishing some other stuff you have been putting off. Take care of your taxes. Book that next holiday, clean your closet out and donate some clothes to charity. - Take care of yourself
As in any relationship, grant yourself some time to take care of yourself. Get moving, take a bath, do yoga, go running, get a massage.
Special challenge: do something you have never done before, even if its something simple like walking all the way to work.
- Connect with Nature
If your work happens to be on the computer, then try to get out as far as possible. Take ride to the suburbs of your city, go to a place where your eyes can rest on a wide corn-field and where you can feel the wind and sun on your face. Just enjoy the moment. - Get inspired
Listen to inspiring podcasts, read a book, go to a gallery, meet an old friend that you did not see in a long time. In order to do inspired and creative work you need to recharge. Those new impressions will leave their mark. Maybe you already have a few new ideas sprouting already.
- Don’t return just yet
So your time off is slowly taking effect. Acknowledge that you were just tired. You probably still are. Give yourself a little more time to relax your creative muscle. Maybe clean your flat and your desk today and you are all set for a fresh return to the work you love tomorrow morning! - Remind yourself of your vision
Now that the creative juices are returning, try to remind yourself why you are doing what you love. You have a vision with your writing, your sport or your teaching. Remind yourself on how important it is to you and your audience and that you should not be too hard on yourself. You need to take care of yourself every once in a while.
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