Displaced Enthusiasm

Dear Reader,

Do you ever feel excited about an idea or the start of something new? I get that feeling all the time, but sometimes I feel that I do not always translate that energy into appropriate action. Here’s one example, one of my goals is to learn German. I was listening to a German-learning podcast that introduced the listener to a variety of new and helpful words. I was commuting, while listening and could not easily write these new words down. However, while I was listening to this podcast I felt so excited and eager to start some sort of Word doc filled with helpful phrases and the new vocabulary. However, by the time I arrived at my destination and could simply start putting my plans into action, for some reason the energy was gone.

Another example. I was sitting in a meeting today with some colleagues. The topic was ticket sales. Although my supervisor and I were very hopeful and enthusiastic about all of the next steps we could take, our other colleagues (who are more along the periphery of this project) reverted to talking about worst-case scenarios and emergency back-up plans. It felt very much like time squandered sitting there listening to how badly things could go instead of proactively planning and taking the first steps. Although I was fueled with energy and was ready to ‘prove them wrong’ during the meeting, now, I feel like the momentum has dipped and our important agenda items have fallen from the status of ‘urgent’ to ‘medium-high’.

Why is it that we are so keen to do things at the wrong time? Perhaps we are more interested in the dream itself rather than the steps necessary to make it happen. For myself, I get so excited sometimes to leave work and start on my “creative projects,” however, when the end of the day comes, I can hardly generate up the enthusiasm that I had that morning. 

The gap must be quite large between dreamers and doers. I’m sure we all get a million-dollar idea once and a while, but how many of us are actually willing to put other important things on hold to pursue these ideas? I have a lot of creative ideas (well, at least I think so) that I should push myself to put into action. The leap from 0 to 1 is far greater than from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 and so on. Perhaps, just pushing myself to take the first step is the best way to make ‘the dream’ a reality. This week I will try to put one of my plans into (slow, but deliberate) action. Wish me luck, Dear Reader, and I wish you all the best in all of your future (or, more appropriately, soon-to-be present) endeavors.

Love, 

Raven