9 Comments
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Brianne Alcala's avatar

I love the phrase "finishing energy"! Yes! And the pitfalls of artificial SMART goal deadlines. This was very useful to read - a relief and encouraging. Thank you!

Helen Reynolds's avatar

Iโ€™m so glad to share a dose of relief! We all need more of it๐ŸŒž

Anne Marie Basquin's avatar

Love this insight. You've cracked it that using finishing energy in daily life burns us out. That's such a great gem! Of course. Fantastic to read as usual.

Helen Reynolds's avatar

Thanks, lovely to hear form you!

Madeleine's avatar

I so resonate with this! This year I decided to publish a photography book. Just making the book has been a huge learning curve and very exhilarating, but then came all the extra work, like building a webshop and ironing out all the glitches that came with that. I've gradually become more and more infused with this finishing energy as I near the release date (that I had set myself), to the point of becoming obsessive...

Helen Reynolds's avatar

Ooh Madeleine that sounds like such a big valuable project to finish! I think all that work on websites etc ends up being valuable for years And exactly the sort of thing one would futz around with for ages if you didnโ€™t have that tension.

Big congratulations on your book ๐ŸŒž

Madeleine's avatar

Thank you so much, Helen! And thank you for this essay, it felt supportive. I'm not the only person putting myself through these challenges.

Leanne Shawler's avatar

Sailmaker? Genius idea!

Helen Reynolds's avatar

Sailmakers are total perfectionists, ideal for artists!