It never made sense, man.
I would always look at the stars and daydream about that book I wrote, that piece of code I shipped, or that person I helped.
It made sense in the dream, and then I woke up.
After that, life started. A text here, a conversation there, that last video game save.
What wasn’t there was the work. It was easy to find the next steps to get that project done when I was in my head, but when anything and everything else happened, I was back, reacting.
Why?
Fear.
Between the daydream and actuality lies the “Commitment Gap.”
In the space between the “Commitment Gap,” you’ll find many things, but the important two for today are promise and expectation.
- Expectation – Our expectations come from external factors, like friends, family, social structure, etc. In the land of expectation, you’ll find “fear” standing there, waiting to worry you with words like “should” standing by to hammer the message home. Expectations grow if they aren’t kept in check, and keep you daydreaming.
- Promise – This is where we actively state what we set to do. You put yourself on the hook with a promise, not because it “looks good,” you put yourself on the hook because your word matters, and what you create does too. Promises stay the same; they don’t expand.
In daydreams, there aren’t expectations, only promise. That is why we get more things done. The fear is gone. We can decide.
Well, it’s possible outside of that daydream as well.
If something is stopping you from getting things done, think about what the expectations are, and replace it with a promise of a “shitty first draft.”
Suddenly, it can start making sense in the real world too.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 