starting energy vs. finishing energy
I have this theory that doing laundry and putting away laundry are two completely different tasks. Hear me out:
Starting a load of laundry requires putting clothes in a machine and pushing a button –– but putting away laundry is where the real effort comes in.
Starting the washing machine is easy, but folding and putting away the laundry is the hard part. I can do laundry all day but when it comes to putting it away, I’d rather live out of my laundry bin until the next laundry day comes around. Folding each individual shirt, sorting through the pile to find the matching socks, and the list goes on.
The same goes for your ideas.
Having an idea can be the easy part –– but putting in the work to bring it to fruition is the real effort. Having an idea takes inspiration, a creative spark. Bringing an idea to life takes sorting through what works and what doesn’t for your offer, looking at each part of your vision to figure out how to describe it and putting it all together in a way that makes sense outside of your own head.
Whenever I’m creating literally anything I can feel this push and pull: there’s a firestarter in me that’s ready to go full speed ahead. It feels like I could build a new offer, sales page, and a full email sequence in a day. It’s that go-go-go energy that doesn’t know the difference between having an idea and feeling like it has to be done ASAP. That’s starting energy.
I also feel the finishing energy, the rational (and often more realistic) part of myself that looks at my to-do list and cross-references my calendar realizing that the thing that I’ve been pushing out may get pushed out a week further. It sees what needs to happen to get from point A to point B. It’s the part of my brain that connects the dots to see what actually needs to happen and the time it’ll take to do it.
Without finishing energy, an idea would stay in my notes section for eternity. But without starting energy, there’s no motivation or inspiration to explore new ideas to begin with. Recognizing that I need both energies in the room to bring any idea to life was a gamechanger for me. Let me give you some examples:
Starting energy: Feels like I can finish everything on my to-do list in an hour (when it make actually take days)
Finishing energy: *points at the pile of laundry, the list of half-baked ideas, and the email I abandoned this morning because I got sidetracked
Starting energy: Jotting down some notes to set myself up for when I actually sit down to work on an idea
Finishing energy: Actually pulling up those notes I wrote and having a good starting point instead of starting at square one.
Starting energy: Jumps between tasks before landing on one to stick with
Finishing energy: Adding those other tasks to a list so that I’m not keeping them all in my head
How to tell which energy you have more of
Starting energy
Starting energy is that feeling of sudden momentum. It’s the kick in the pants that says it’s time to work on this idea right now. It can look like a sudden creative spark, an intuitive answer to a question you’ve been sitting with, or having the energy to finish something you’ve been putting off. It can also look like a flow state where all of your ideas are suddenly falling into place and you feel like you can bend time to get things done.
Pros: Feels exciting, brings momentum and can shake you out of a creative funk
It can feel so good when the starting energy comes through after a long stretch of burnout or lacking motivation.
Cons: Too much starting energy can lead to burnout and continuing to burnout again and again. If you’re always starting new projects, you’re not taking the time to see them through which can also lead to frustration.
Finishing energy
Finishing energy is the part of yourself that remembers every project you’ve every started. It remembers the idea you had four years ago and asks “whatever happened to…” Finishing energy is the energy needed to bring your idea through the finish line. It can either feel grounded and calm or like a mad dash to race to the end. Harnessing this energy can be powerful in manifesting, but too much can lead to a crash after a big push. Finishing energy takes discernment to know which ideas are meant for you to complete and which projects you can release to make space for what feels aligned.
Pros: This is pure momentum. It’s the energy needed to do those last tasks that can hold you back from ever finishing a project. Finishing energy often isn’t one quick spurt, it’s the necessary follow through and prioritization no matter how long it takes.
Cons: Too much finishing energy can lead to overwhelm. If you try to finish things all at once, burning out is the next step because you’re trying to do too much and not giving yourself space to focus and rest.
While these energies serve two different functions in bringing an idea to life, both are necessary. Finding the balance between the two is where the real magic happens. It’s being able to have an idea and see it come to fruition. It’s setting a goal with a friend and high-fiving when you’re still committed to it weeks later.
The secret sauce of bringing any idea to life is learning to balance both.
Ready to find the right balance to bring your ideas to life?
Dreamweaving sessions combine the fire-starting energy with the aligned actions to carry the idea out. In your session you’ll be guided through energy healing, real-time project planning and receive a personalized 30-50 page PDF that outlines your next steps.You can learn more about Dreamweaving sessions and here.