21. Stop jumping from idea to idea

I have a bad habit of jumping into and out of ideas too fast too soon. Focusing on one thing at a time has always been a challenge for me. I want too many things at a given time. Often more than I can handle.

This is how it usually goes. A brilliant idea struck me. I got absurdly excited. I swing into action. Things get tough. I lost motivation. A new idea pops in my head. I move on. Repeat.

I hate myself for it.

I began to reflect on how I develop this half-ass attitude. And I realize it’s not much of what I did wrong down the road. It’s the wrong roads that I go down to begin with.

The problem is I always get too caught up on the upside of an idea. I get so thrilled about the possibility of the outcome I leave the details on how to get there behind. I pay little attention to the difficulties, logistics, risks, and compromises — which are the inherent products of all endeavors.

So no wonder I tend to lose excitement in a project halfway. My excitement was misaligned from the start. Basing off only the outcome, not the entire journey as one package.

I’m proud of myself for getting things off the ground so quickly. But for me to level up, I need to get the right things off the ground. I’m at the age where I need to start accomplishing something great. Something that will set my foundation right for the next few years. Something that puts me on the right trajectory for the future that I want.

So I’ve created a standard which I need to follow before committing to a project. Here are some of the considerations:

1. How much time and effort do I need to put into it to see some result?
2. What are the potential pitfalls?
3. How will it affect everything else that I’m already doing?
4. How could I fuck it up? What are the remedies?
5. What are the detailed steps to execute it? Will I be excited not only for the result but also during the process?

After that, instead of acting on the idea right away, I’ll sit on it for at least a week. If it comes up to me again and I still feel as excited, then I know that it’s something worth looking further into.

At the end of the day, I need to acknowledge that there will always be problems in whatever I choose to do. So I need to be ruthless in picking the problems that are worth facing.