<story><title>Ask HN: Why is nearing completion so demotivating?</title><text>So I&amp;#x27;ve been working on animation software for over two years.  Part of me is very excited for launch so I can have money again ( I&amp;#x27;ve been freelancing a minimum amount these last two years, and went car-less, moved, cut lifestyle into a third ).  I should be wholeheartedly excited, but I&amp;#x27;m feeling tired and generally sluggish regarding the project.  I still make consistent progress, but it takes a lot of will power.&lt;p&gt;Part of me thinks it might be an aversion to sales.  Part of me thinks this could have been built up so much in my head that anything short of overnight millions would be a disappointment (though I would be happy with 1500 bucks a month ), part of me thinks I might be scared of success ( or scared of surpassing my parents )(media attention), part of me fears the attacks that might come with success ( having something to lose ), part of it is the un-fun-ness of mature projects where the focus is on polish and bugs rather than broad new features, and part of me is scared of commitment:  if I succeed I have to stick with this (freedom value), part of me wonders what will happen when more people become involved, if I will be able to maintain my creative direction, since I&amp;#x27;m scratching my own itch.  Part of me wonders if diet and exercise isn&amp;#x27;t a factor.&lt;p&gt;A combination, likely...</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>mikekchar</author><text>When your project is finished, the dream is dead and the reality is born.  The death of a dream is like the death of a friend.  It&amp;#x27;s probably been with you for a long time -- longer even than the length of the project.  A dream is the manifestation of what&amp;#x27;s possible.  When it is over, the possible diminishes very quickly and you are left with what actually is.  Will people respond well to your project -- in the dream stage it is possible; everything is possible.  In the reality stage, it will only be what it is.&lt;p&gt;So while it&amp;#x27;s common to think of a release as a birth of something new, realise that you also have a significant loss.  You will mourn that loss.  Give yourself some emotional space to deal with the mourning.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>TheOtherHobbes</author><text>Good comment.&lt;p&gt;Post-completion depression is a recognised syndrome in the arts. One psychological explanation is that constant pressure to complete maintains a core state of focus and emotional arousal.&lt;p&gt;When the pressure disappears so does the arousal, and sometimes a sense of purpose and direction disappears with it. You knew what you were doing and why you needed to get up in the morning, and then you don’t any more. It’s a bit like losing a job.&lt;p&gt;It’s also temporary. A good prosaic but effective antidote is a vacation and&amp;#x2F;or a change of scene. If that’s not practical just after shipping - it often isn’t - at least clear a couple of weeks later, book a break, and take at least a weekend off to do something fun in the short term.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: Why is nearing completion so demotivating?</title><text>So I&amp;#x27;ve been working on animation software for over two years.  Part of me is very excited for launch so I can have money again ( I&amp;#x27;ve been freelancing a minimum amount these last two years, and went car-less, moved, cut lifestyle into a third ).  I should be wholeheartedly excited, but I&amp;#x27;m feeling tired and generally sluggish regarding the project.  I still make consistent progress, but it takes a lot of will power.&lt;p&gt;Part of me thinks it might be an aversion to sales.  Part of me thinks this could have been built up so much in my head that anything short of overnight millions would be a disappointment (though I would be happy with 1500 bucks a month ), part of me thinks I might be scared of success ( or scared of surpassing my parents )(media attention), part of me fears the attacks that might come with success ( having something to lose ), part of it is the un-fun-ness of mature projects where the focus is on polish and bugs rather than broad new features, and part of me is scared of commitment:  if I succeed I have to stick with this (freedom value), part of me wonders what will happen when more people become involved, if I will be able to maintain my creative direction, since I&amp;#x27;m scratching my own itch.  Part of me wonders if diet and exercise isn&amp;#x27;t a factor.&lt;p&gt;A combination, likely...</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>mikekchar</author><text>When your project is finished, the dream is dead and the reality is born.  The death of a dream is like the death of a friend.  It&amp;#x27;s probably been with you for a long time -- longer even than the length of the project.  A dream is the manifestation of what&amp;#x27;s possible.  When it is over, the possible diminishes very quickly and you are left with what actually is.  Will people respond well to your project -- in the dream stage it is possible; everything is possible.  In the reality stage, it will only be what it is.&lt;p&gt;So while it&amp;#x27;s common to think of a release as a birth of something new, realise that you also have a significant loss.  You will mourn that loss.  Give yourself some emotional space to deal with the mourning.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>wheels</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s interesting -- I wholeheartedly agree with the phenomenon, but I&amp;#x27;d frame it completely differently.&lt;p&gt;There&amp;#x27;s a scary cliff there, but I feel like launching is when a project first becomes &lt;i&gt;real&lt;/i&gt;.  It&amp;#x27;s the actual start.  It&amp;#x27;s when you&amp;#x27;re judged.  It&amp;#x27;s usually when you learn that your assumptions were completely wrong.  It means you have to start dealing with actual problems, not imagined problems.&lt;p&gt;That&amp;#x27;s usually less &lt;i&gt;fun&lt;/i&gt;, but I think it is more &lt;i&gt;exciting&lt;/i&gt; (in large part because it&amp;#x27;s the dive into the unknown).</text></comment>