Has it ever happened to you?
I Spoke It Into Existence, So Now It’s Dead
Sometimes, we kill our dreams by prematurely declaring them as realities. Overconfidence and the rush to share can strangle the very ideas we cherish most.
A few weeks ago, I found a football startup on LinkedIn. It gave me the idea to create a platform that would connect individual players to form a team, book a venue, and play matches. I talked about it to a friend who listened intently, nodding in all the right places, and by the end of my rant, I could already see it becoming popular.
The problem? That moment—that tiny spark of validation—was the peak of the project. Not because it succeeded but because I spoke it into existence before it had a chance to grow. By announcing it too soon, I inadvertently sabotaged it.
The same happened to me when I was talking to my colleagues.
I am not an avid reader I had just begun reading one. I talked about how I was about to finish it and all of a sudden, I found myself avoiding it. I used to read daily for at least 15 minutes every day and now it’s been a month since I last touched it. (I will probably get back to it soon 😅)
Sound familiar?
The Psychology of Speaking Too Soon
There’s a peculiar satisfaction in declaring intentions. You say, “I’m going to lose 20 pounds,” or “I’m starting my blog this weekend,” and for a brief moment, it feels as though you’ve already succeeded. Your brain rewards you with a rush of dopamine, the same chemical high you’d experience by completing the task.
This is known as the “intention-action gap.” When we vocalize our goals, we’re less likely to follow through because the act of speaking creates a false sense of accomplishment. We trick ourselves into thinking we’ve done the hard work when, in reality, we’ve barely scratched the surface.
The Death of My “Big Idea”
My revolutionary project? A design resource hub, tutorials, digital product templates, and interactive case studies. The moment I spoke of it, the momentum shifted. Instead of dedicating time to fleshing out the idea, I got stuck in a feedback loop: explaining, examining, and overanalyzing the “vision.”
The more I talked about it, the less energy I had to build it. Each conversation drained the creative reservoir until there was nothing left but a skeleton of what could have been.
This Is What I Realized
The blocks I face aren’t just obstacles—they’re tests. Tests of whether I’m truly serious about seeing the idea through or if it was just a fleeting distraction born out of boredom.
If the passion to move forward still burns after hitting a wall, then it’s a sign—a resounding yes. It means the idea is worth pursuing, and the block itself becomes a source of renewed motivation. It’s like the universe asking, “Do you really want this?”
And if the answer is yes, I know I’ll find the strength to push forward, no matter how many blocks come my way.
The Comeback
I’m happy to report that not all was lost. The failure taught me to value silence and prioritize progress over validation.
Now, when I’m working on something new, I resist the urge to announce it. Instead, I focus on building, testing, and refining. By the time I’m ready to share, the work speaks for itself.
A good example is this portfolio.
I’ve telling people about how I am building my portfolio for like 2 years.
It didn’t work. I was too lazy. But then all of a sudden, I decided to dedicate a week to working on it, unannounced to anyone, even my designer friends and now here we are.
Finally, live 🎉
I have realized that I must speak my ideas into existence only when it’s ready to thrive—not die.
Build it, shape it, maybe even trip over it—just don’t speak it to death.