Overheard a guy at the coffee shop say he's been rebuilding the same motorcycle for 8 years

I was grabbing a latte last Tuesday and this older dude at the next table was telling his friend he's been rebuilding a '79 Yamaha XS650 for 8 years. He said he keeps stripping it down, buying new parts, then losing motivation when he hits a wiring problem. It hit me that my woodworking bench has been half-assembled in my garage for 18 months now. I've got the lumber cut but I keep finding excuses not to drill the pilot holes for the legs. Has anyone else let a project sit for years just because one step feels too hard to start?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_price10d ago

That wiring problem is a wall you hit and then every time you look at the project you remember that frustration. The woodworking bench thing is the same - you've got all the hard prep done but that one step of drilling pilot holes feels like a mountain because it's the point where you can't change things anymore. Once you drill those holes, the design is locked in. That's probably why the motorcycle guy keeps buying new parts instead of finishing - as long as he's still gathering pieces, the bike is still perfect in his head. The actual moment of assembly means facing every little mistake you made along the way.

jordanm1910d ago

Yeah I started just drilling one hole at a time and walking away for a bit. It broke the fear of commitment thing and got me moving again.