I was just thinking today about the dilemma which a lot of creative professionals find themselves in. They want to HAVE CREATED, but right now they’re not interested in CREATING. And then “right now” extends through day after day after day. As I was pondering I realized that this likely extends to other fields, to vocations, avocations, and pure recreations alike.
So I put it to you… fill in the blanks. “I don’t want to [blank]. I want to have [blank]ed.”
What is it that you want to have done, but don’t want to actually do.
I don’t want to clean. I want to have cleaned.
I don’t want to lose weight. I want to have lost weight.
I don’t want to send things to publishers. I want to have sent things to publishers.
Another one
I don’t want to date again. I want to have dated.
What really sucks is when you create something really cool and you want to hear what other people think of it, and the silence is just deafening.
Which doesn’t answer your questions, exactly. 🙂
I love your strip. It is full of awesome and win.
Bless you sir.
A Clarion call to get off ones butt and DO rather than wish/imagine that one has done.
My niece says my problem is that I live in my head. Thanks for reminging me that thoughts are only good when they lead to decisive action and deeds.
And that life is never “on hold” so one must needs grapple with it moment by moment.
I don’t want to edit my book, I want to have edited it. Writing the thing was a ton easier than trying to edit it, I think.
This amuses me because I WANT to edit other people’s work. *I’m really great at knowing when something doesn’t sound right, granted I can’t tell you why it sounds off, just that it does*
Oy, totally hear you on that one.
I’m not sure that that’s true for creative processes. To have [blank]ed is a nice feeling of achievement to look back upon (in mild bafflement, in my case, as I have oft forgotten whatever it was that I did), but a majority of the enjoyment/satisfaction is during the [blank]ing itself.
Trust me… while it may not be the case for everyone, it is certainly the case for a lot of people. Especially writers and artists. I don’t want to draw. I want to have drawn. I don’t want to write. I want to have written.
I don’t want to play Lego Star Wars right now. I want to… wait a minute. Yes , I DO want to play Lego Star Wars right now!
Cleaning and editing are my two big ones. Both tasks feel like huge time sinks without much result.
“I don’t want to CLEAN, I want to Have Cleaned”
But I think this probably applies to a great many folks, especially with the chaos of the holidays now over, and three months of winter left to face…
But it’s also a chore, not a creative or recreational process, so not particularly surprising.
Well, yes- there IS that… And the fact that it’s never really DONE like a piece of jewelry or a picture or a story…
Ah, I see the holidays as the start to the best part of the year. So it isn’t left to face but left to embrace. (Some of this might have to do with living right across from a ski resort….
Which ski resort? One of the fancy ones where stars come to play? or one of the little guys where the locals come?
Gunstock. It might become fancy as Meadowbrook becomes famous as a summer concert venue.
Ah, far side of the country from me. Though- if it becomes famous- HANG ONTO your home! Prices will go up into the ridiculous very quickly…
I want to have lost weight. I want to have gotten back into good physical condition. I want to have paid off all my debt. I want to have cleaned up my yard. I want to have built a nice bookshelf. I could go on, but I think I’ll stop now.
I don’t want to put 30 years in in the military, I want to have done so and now be retired on a very nice pension that is 75% of the average of my last three years’ pay.
Of course, then I’d be at least 54ish, so… maybe not.
I don’t want to work on my house, I want my house finished.
No, really, I hate painting and tiling and such. I’m not bad at it but man, does it suck.
…draw all my characters, satisfactorily complete my story… blah. At least get the plot for the damn thing. Doing it is not quite working out for me.
As a musician, I want to sound practiced, but I don’t want to practice. Scales suck.
Actually, this isn’t true, I really want to sound as if the music magically happens without the need to practice. Of course, to achieve that takes even more practice.
I don’t want to exercise, I want to HAVE exercised.
I don’t want to practise my singing, I want to HAVE practised my singing.
I don’t want to live, I want to HAVE li…
Oh, wait a minute.
Find a job in my field.
Get my computer running.
I don’t want to write a novel. I want to have written a novel.
I don’t want to practice drawing machinery well. I want to have drawn machinery well.
I don’t want to be hungover. I want to have been hungover.
I don’t want to be looking for a new job, I want to have FOUND one.
DITTO!
I absolutely Agree!
That’s mine as well!
I don’t want to start my next project. I want to have started.
For some reason, is the getting everything set up and actually starting that’s the usual big roadblock for me.
I hear that one.
“I don’t want to play the lottery, I want to have won!”
There. Definitely something for nothing there. And about as likely as en pointe for me at this point. 😀
“I don’t want to heal, I want to have healed.” One dratted thing after another. 😀 Ah, well.
I want to eat, but I don’t want to have eaten.
I don’t want to paint my Legion of Everblight army, but I want to have painted my Legion army.
Bloody blighters… your flying scares my poor trolls. Cut it out!
I can’t even begin to list the things that fall into this category for me.
I don’t want to earn a paycheck, I want to have earned a paycheck.
Furthermore, I don’t want to exercise, I want to have exercised.
Conversely, I don’t want to have eaten as much as I like of whatever I like, but I want to eat as much as I like of whatever I like.
Furthermore conversely, I don’t want to have slept around a lot, but I want to sleep around a lot.
Curse this whole foul “cause and effect” relationship!
My job does give me a few of those, but mostly I enjoy the part that I get paid for – figuring out how to do things.
I can say, many times, however, that I don’t want to fill out the paperwork, I want to have had it filled out for me and have moved on to the next fun bit.
I don’t want to fade away, I want to have lived!
I don’t want to learn, I want to have learned.
More specifically, I would really like it if stuff I read or did stayed in my head without having to work at it.
I don’t want to program. I want to have programmed.
Hmm, the choices
Lemme see…
I don’t want to script, I want to have scripted.
‘k, done. 😉
an aside of sorts
NOt in the spirit of the post but in response to something you said on your schlockmercenary.com page.
Tagons Toughs Clicks/Mini’s. Now THATS something that would tempt the money right out of my wallet.
Blessings to you and your family, Howard.
Thanks for all the yucks.
I don’t want to sleep, I want to have slept! Honestly, I feel much the same about sleeping as Sandra does about eating – if only we could only do it when it was pleasant and convenient! Dang mortal body. 😛
I don’t want to get a master’s degree. I want to have gotten a master’s degree.
This is why I haven’t got a master’s degree.