Have you ever had an idea that you were super excited about? Maybe it was the thought of running a marathon, starting a business, going back to school, or writing a book. Initially, you're engaged and dedicated, the excitement of what you want propelling you through early morning runs, learning new skills, or the first class or two. Then it's no longer fun anymore. The excitement wears off and getting up for those runs is hard. Hustling to find and build a business just takes so much energy. Sitting down at the computer and putting words on a virtual page becomes a slog.
I'm fairly sure that we've all experienced this, in some form or another, multiple times in our life. When I first starting getting back into writing, I was excited about it. I started attending my first writing group and did NaNoWriMo for the first time. But my story always got bogged down somewhere, or I learned something new, either about the world I was writing or about the craft of writing, and would have to rework what I had already done.
I stopped writing for months or years at a time. This was partially because of life events, but mostly because I just didn't know how I could keep going when the going was so hard.
Then I learned something. I'm not sure where I heard it so I can give it proper attribution, but it changed my entire outlook on the craft of writing.
Commitment is dedication to a course of action after the excitement has worn off.
Was I just excited about the idea or was I committed to telling a story? Did I just want to get the story on the page or was I committed to the craft of writing and making my story enjoyable and easy to read?
Everything meaningful comes with a cost and I've discovered, much to my dismay, that most of the time that cost is the long slog of work. Dragging yourself out of bed before anyone else. Working when others aren't. Pounding away at a story with a hope that your ability is good enough to tell it the way you imagine it.
I have found two things that help me keep going when I'm in the middle of something.
First, look forward.
Imagine what the end is like. How is it going to feel to hold a book in my hands that I wrote? How excited will you be crossing the finish line after running 26 miles? How proud are you going to feel when you can quit the day job and work for yourself full time?
Second, look backward.
Remember why you wanted to do this? Why do you want your own business? Why do you want to run a marathon? Why do you want to write? Understanding the reasons you got started in the first place can be huge motivation to keep going, even if it hasn't gotten any easier yet.
Excitement is the bookends of accomplishment. It helps us get started and finished. But commitment, and confidence that it won't always be so hard, is what carries us through until it is exciting again.