How do you know when it’s time for a project to end?

We get a lot of messaging from society that we have to “see things through” or “stick with it no matter what.” I know that was something I had engrained in me from childhood. And while I do think that honoring our commitments to others is kind, I also know that getting stuck in this way of thinking can create rigidity and stagnation in our lives if we are not careful.

Many times we keep doing the same thing, working the same job, going through the motions on the same project, because we feel like we have to. There don’t seem to be other options. But forcing ourselves to keep going on a project, even though it’s not feeling aligned with our changing needs and desires, can cause us to feel stuck.

Here’s the truth: nothing is meant to last forever.

“Nothing is meant to last forever.”

In my experience working in nonprofits, in academia, and in creative spaces, the issue of stagnation often, but not always, comes not from any bad intentions. Rather, I’ve seen a few patterns repeat themselves:

1. “We’ve always done things this way, we’re comfortable with it, and we haven’t been pushed to change for any reason.”

2. “We feel trapped into doing things this way because of the funding we get and the parameters we’ve been given.”

3. “We are so burnt out and overworked that we don’t have any time or capacity to imagine doing things any differently.”

The result of these experiences often means that people are not living their most fulfilled lives. Whether that be the person with decision-making power feeling pressure and responsibility for others, or the staff member who has bigger dreams but doesn’t see a way toward them.

And this happens with our own creative projects too. How many artists have continued to work on a particular project or type of work because they are afraid that if they try something new, their audience won’t stay with them?

Here’s another truth: As inherently creative beings, we are capable of making and being many things in our lifetimes.

“As inherently creative beings, we are capable of making and being many things in our lifetimes.”

I’d like to encourage us all to bust the myth that we have to work the same job, do the same project, or make the same art forever. I want to see a world where we are celebrated for knowing when a project has naturally reached a stopping point, or for acknowledging when we are emotionally ready to move on to the next thing. I think we would all be a lot happier and feel a lot freer.

Even though we live in a world where most people aren’t encouraged to seek change and fulfill their dreams, I’d like to invite us all to at least do the mental exercise of examining where we are and where we want to be. And honestly, so much of the time what has come before can help us to find even better paths into the future…if we are willing to seek them.

So here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• What is something I am doing because I think I have to?

• What is something that if time and money weren’t an obstacle, I would really like to do?

• What would I do if I let myself dream?

• Starting small, what is one thing I can try today to get myself one step closer to a new dream?

As someone who has gone down several paths in life, only to realize a new one was beckoning, I am so grateful to be in a place where I embrace the fact that I hold multitudes, that my past experience holds value, and that I can listen to my inner voice and honor its desires. I hope we can all learn to listen, to ask, and to follow that voice in each of us.