How to avoid the flameout of inspiration?

Strike while the iron is hot, writing is, and so is the project.

Today, I saw a friend's blog, saying that he would often give up an idea because of entanglement, resulting in an unsuccessful launch. I feel the same way. We may already know 1,000 ways to deal with perfectionism and overthinking, but we still use perfectionism to struggle with which one to use.

Mental attrition is common. I took a flight the day before yesterday and re-read the "rework" written by the founder of 37signals, which contains this paragraph:

The least likely thing to last is inspiration. Inspiration is like fresh fruit or milk: it has a certain shelf life. If you want to do something, you have to do it right away. Don't say to yourself "we'll talk about it later". From now on, you won't mention it again at all. If your inspiration comes on Friday, ditch the weekend and get straight to the point. When you get excited about this inspiration, you can do two weeks of work in 24 hours. From this point of view, it is an efficiency amplifier and a thruster. But it won't stop and wait for you.

If I thought about it for an extra hour, I promise this article wouldn't exist.

Fading enthusiasm is not a "disease" that only you and I have. To a certain extent, it is not a disease, it is the norm. All I can do is be aware of it and act on it.

What's the meaning?

Our linear thinking often thinks that projects are done this way: ideas - projects. In fact, there is an element missing in the middle, which should be: idea-things-project.

Throughout this life, all our status, qualities, and relationships are shaped by things, one thing after another, shaping your life and mine. You don't shape yourself by your own will, your thoughts. For example, if you read novels, why do novels always emphasize the conflict in the story? Here's why: conflict is exogenous, and it has a huge driving force that is underestimated. This push moves the protagonist toward the next thing and shapes the ending.

In the middle of inspiration to project, we need things, we need conflicts. When inspiration knocks on the door, don't let him stop in your head, let him become a twitter, a public account article, a landing page or a video. The point is to be fast, not "good enough".

As Musk said, there is no optimism or pessimism, just dealing with things every day. With inspiration, post it! If someone likes it, it will strengthen your confidence and you will see that inspiration is not just a thought-level existence, it is also beneficial to others in reality. In this uncertain world, that confidence is a treasure.

If others don't like it, and criticize it for being childish and clumsy, congratulate yourself: a conflict occurs, and it pushes us to the next thing. I was discouraged and gave up, it was one thing; I was angry, determined to test the idea, it was another thing.

Go with the flow and turn inspiration into things. This is the antidote to overthinking.