We often think the risk of pursuing the “wrong” project is failure. But the truth is, the bigger risk is doing nothing at all.
Here’s what staying scattered actually costs you:
Time. Weeks turn into months, months into years, and your ideas remain half-finished drafts.
Confidence. Every abandoned project chips away at your belief that you can finish anything.
Opportunities. While you’re hesitating, someone else is out there shipping.
I know, because I lived it. For years, my creative energy went into spinning wheels. I’d tell myself I was “waiting for clarity,” but really, I was afraid of deciding.
Contrast that with the moment I finally committed to one path. It wasn’t even the “perfect” choice. But once I had direction, my confidence grew. I started finishing things. And finishing gave me momentum for bigger, bolder projects.
The real cost isn’t making a wrong choice—it’s making no choice.
If you’ve been waiting for the “right” moment to define your voice, consider this your sign: clarity won’t arrive by accident. It arrives when you decide your work is worth finishing.
👉 Where could you be six months from now if you stopped waiting and started moving forward today?
I really admire how you’ve been transparent about your own journey with scattered energy. It makes your advice so much more relatable. I’ve been commenting this week about my ideas for short stories that have gone unfinished and how I’m now committing to launching a series of them. I realized that every time I leave one unfinished it feels like a tiny hit to my confidence and I’m ready to break that cycle. Thank you for showing that momentum comes from completing even the imperfect drafts. I’ve enjoyed the content series this week Idris Elijah and hope you have a great weekend!
Earlier this week I mentioned how your three-part filter gave me clarity in choosing which music project to focus on. Today’s newsletter really drove it home. The danger isn’t picking the wrong song or album idea, it’s staying scattered and leaving everything half-finished. That’s exactly where I’ve been stuck for years with demos piling up on my hard drive! Now I see that committing to one project, even if it’s not perfect, will give me the momentum to finish and grow. I’m committing to finishing my songs and that shift feels like the first real step forward in my music journey. Excellent content Idris Elijah and enjoy the weekend!