How ideas can fizzle out and what to do about it

Do your Ideas Fizzle?

I know I’ve been there, have you?  I’ll get what I think is  a fantastic idea and I’ll set about working and working and then…

Nothing.  I’m stuck.  I lose steam.  My passion fizzles.

Why does this happen?

It’s easy to pass it off as being busy – motherhood calls (and it does) but if an idea is a good one it will nag me until I explore it.  So does this mean that ideas which fizzle out were not good ideas?

I don’t think so and here’s why:

I’ll be the first to admit that not all ideas are created equally.  Some of them stink from the very beginning.  I’ve been there and done that.  But most ideas have potential.  When I have one that gets dropped, it’s not necessarily because the idea turned out to be a bad one, but more that I didn’t turn that idea into a goal.

When you have a flash of an idea, sit down and ask yourself -

• What do I need to express?
• Where am I trying to take it?
• What exactly do I want to communicate?
• What am I expecting as the end result?

If you find you can’t answer these questions,  jot the idea down so you don’t forget it and spend some time thinking about what got you excited in the first place.

Write your Roadmap

Once you know where you want to go, you can figure out how to get there.

It might be as simple as jotting down a few notes or making a ‘to do’ list of key points you need to hit.  Maybe you need a shopping list for materials so you aren’t left in the lurch.  Maybe you just need to set it straight in your head.  Be aware that while planning is a great tool, planning too much can suck the joy out of creating.  Allow yourself leeway to stray from your plan if you find yourself taking another path.  Just make sure that path leads to your goal.

When should you just let it go?

Some of the ideas that fizzled out on me were because of things I should have been aware of from the beginning.  In these instances I decide to just let them die because, they weren’t my passion to begin with and I had unrealistic goals from the get go.  In these instances it’s smart to step back and evaluate the idea.  Think about what it will take to move forward.  Here are some reasons things didn’t work for me:

• Lack of technical knowledge on the craft at hand (not saying you shouldn’t learn something new, just be aware of the work and investment involved before you take it on.)
• An excitement to work with a certain material – only no idea of what to make with it.
• A mis-judgement on time commitment
• A mis-judgement on my likes vs dislikes (but sometimes, you can’t know unless you try it right?)
• A feeling that the outcome wouldn’t be worth the investment (both time and money)

The next time you get an idea, or notice your lack of enthusiasm for one.  Take a step back and think about turning that idea into a goal.  And if you need to, think about why your idea might fizzle out.  It might save you some time and increase your focus.

Image credit – from gwineman’s photostream