Some projects are never really finished—and I’ve learned to love that. In fact, many of my most meaningful creative discoveries have come not from seeing something through to completion, but from choosing to pause, pivot, or even walk away. That might sound like failure, but for me, it’s been one of the most powerful parts of my creative life.
A Trail of Ideas, Not Dead Ends
When I look back at all the creative projects I’ve started, it’s easy to see them as a scattered trail—unfinished blogs, half-edited videos, outlines for courses I never recorded. But over time, I’ve come to understand these not as dead ends, but as stepping stones. Each idea, whether it became something or not, taught me something new or sparked something else entirely.
Letting Go Can Be an Act of Growth
One of the most freeing lessons I’ve learned is this: I don’t owe every idea a finished product. Giving myself the permission to walk away from a personal project—without guilt, without explanation—has actually opened more creative doors than it’s closed. Some ideas evolve, some rest, and some quietly make room for others.
From Idea to Inspiration: The Unfinished Becoming New
Sometimes, the project you leave behind doesn’t vanish—it simply changes shape. Years after I moved to the U.S., I thought about writing a book or creating a website about the experience. The idea lingered but never became more than that. Much later, I started a YouTube channel and made a few videos on the topic before moving on again. Still, the idea didn’t disappear. Instead, it turned into a podcast and a website—both now inactive. (You can still find the remnants at aswedishfika.com, broken links and all.) Who knows? Maybe I’ll return to it in some new form one day.
The Freedom to Let Go
One of the most powerful shifts I’ve made in my creative life is this:
I give myself permission to abandon any personal project—without guilt, without explanation, and without needing to justify it to myself.
This doesn’t mean I don’t care. It means I trust my own rhythm.
Sometimes a project simply isn’t right for right now. And if I try to force it, I lose the joy that brought me to it in the first place. Letting go—without needing to turn it into a lesson or a failure—has actually opened up more creative space.
Some ideas get left behind, but others grow into something unexpected. Some stay quiet for years before returning. And some turn into entirely new projects.
It’s important to say: this freedom applies to my personal creative life. When I’m working with others, I show up. I follow through. But in the private spaces where my ideas take shape, I’ve learned to honor both momentum and pause.
Because sometimes stopping is the most creative thing I can do.
Projects Without Endings
Most of my projects don’t really end. Some pause for months—or years. Some evolve into something else entirely. And a few just linger, quietly unfinished but still meaningful in their own way.
I used to think that was a flaw. That I was undisciplined or indecisive. But now I see it differently.
Creative work, for me, isn’t a race toward a finished product. It’s a practice of curiosity, reflection, and becoming. It’s a way of staying engaged with life, even when things are messy or unresolved.
So here I am again, returning to an idea I’ve circled before. This blog. This space. This moment.
And I’m okay if it changes, pauses, or meanders. Because that’s how I’ve always made things—slowly, sincerely, and with the freedom to begin again.
