BYOE — Bring Your Own Enthusiasm

I was tinkering with a pet coding project today and started having doubts about it.

Should I put in the effort? Shouldn’t I do something else? Is it worth the time?

And so on the inner monologue went.

Then I stopped myself.

This project was meant to be fun. It was something I started because of my opinion on how primitive we are in dealing with information in large quantities. It wasn’t meant to be work.

So, I flipped a switch in my brain.

I like the project. I’m building it for myself. It has a lot of potential. Let’s be enthusiastic about it. What’s the vision of the future when it’ll work?

Then I resumed ‘working’, fixed some bugs and made visible progress. Without another needless negative thought.

Enthusiasm is key. It can be cultivated.

Find the parts of something you enjoy.

Find the reasons why be joyous about something.

Envelop yourself in enthusiasm, commit yourself and then fully focus on the matter at hand.

You’ll make more progress with enthusiasm than with needless doubt.

Whatever you do, bring your own enthusiasm — BYOE.