Everything that has a beginning also has an end, naturally. It is said that the end is usually created before the beginning because without the end the beginning can't happen.
A loose example, wouldn't life lose much of its meaning if there aren't any limits in place?
I think this is true mostly from a macro level. On a non macro level, it's quite relative. I've started a lot of things without any inkling of what the end will be.
Somehow, starting something with a clear idea of how, what or when to end it seems like a neat way of doing things, which unfortunately I don't have much of an interest for.
For one, it seems a bit restrictive to chart a straight course on a river that's ever flowing and ever changing, so to speak.
Past Impressions, Present Reflections
But is this enough of an excuse to not think or plan about the end? This was my impression a while back, and I did start many pursuits without any defined outcome to strive for.
In the past, I used to romanticize the idea of creative freedom, viewing it as a gateway to unleash one's full potential. So I'd dive headfirst into projects without a clear direction, letting my imagination run wild.
But as I got more into it, I began to be floored into one of the downsides of this approach, a kind of creative paralysis.
Getting stuck in an endless cycle of iteration, never quite satisfied with the result simply because there wasn't any clear endpoint.
Maybe this was a form of self-protection, a way to avoid the discomfort of failure or the pressure of meeting expectations.
Or maybe it was simply a manifestation of my own curiosity.
Whatever the reason, I've come to understand that short term exhilarating experiences over time ultimately lead to a sense of stagnation and frustration in the long term.
Reckless Beauty
Looking back, the older me will probably say that was a reckless habit. Interestingly however, I had much freedom being reckless before than I do now being reckful, which says a lot about the trade-offs we make as we grow older and the importance of living in the moment. Call it growth, maturity, becoming more aligned with reality, etc.
The point is there's a beautiful relief in embracing the unknown, even if it means not always reaching a definitive endpoint from our own perspective.
Paradoxically, the more this point becomes important for me to remember, the less practical it also becomes to execute, the struggle to reconcile it with the demands of reality.
Because we're living in a world that values "productivity and efficiency" above all else, it's difficult to justify the uncertainty of creative exploration or indulge in open-ended pursuits and find value in the unfinished and the imperfect.
Such is the conflict many creative tend to grapple with every now and then.
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