Love for Your Ideas
When an idea comes to you, you have a choice. If you accept the idea, it becomes your responsibility to bring it into the real world and do it justice. For years, I struggled with creative pressure: rushing chapters to meet arbitrary deadlines, demanding that first drafts be masterpieces, or waiting for the ‘perfect time’ that never arrived. Caring for your ideas does not mean forcing them to be flawless; it means giving them the time, patience, and honesty they deserve to grow.
Caring for an idea means taking responsibility to bring it to life, giving it the time and effort it deserves, without rushing it or demanding that it be flawless.
Erik Thor, Why I Care
What Writing Taught Me About Creation
The seventeen-year-old manuscript
At seventeen, I decided that I had to be a published author by eighteen. While my friends were at the mall or playing games, I sat at my desk rushing through chapters. Because I was in such a hurry to finish, I never took the time to think about what I was actually saying. When I finished, I hated the manuscript so much I could not stand to read it. I hit delete.
A healthy relationship with perfectionism
Perfectionism is not an enemy you have to destroy. If you are not critical of your ideas at the start, you will be critical of them down the line. The goal is to build a healthy relationship with perfectionism: one that does not stop you from putting pen to paper, but helps you clarify your thoughts once they are out in the open.
Cutting 100,000 Words Down to Thirty
When I started writing Why I Care, the manuscript ballooned until it passed 100,000 words.
My arguments and notes were so tangled that I lost track of what the book was actually about. It felt like I was trying to say every single thought that had ever crossed my mind. I felt overwhelmed and ready to quit.
Beyond the length, I felt immense pressure to sound academic—citing hundreds of outside sources to prove that I was an expert. But that was not the book I wanted to write. I wanted to write something personal, direct, and honest, not an academic paper dressed up in someone else’s language.
I sat down, cut away the intellectual filler, deleted every paragraph that did not feel true to my lived experience, and arrived at 30,000 words. I realized what the book was: a reflection on the first third of my life, before becoming a parent. An idea does not have to get you across the entire finish line on day one; it just needs to get you one step closer.
“An idea can lead to an idea that leads to another idea. You do not need every idea to become a masterpiece. You just need to respect the process enough to show up.”
Micro-test quiz with 10 questions
Love For Your Ideas Match
Check off statements above to calculate your match score.
Practical Creativity Worksheet
Discover where creative pressure is holding you back, release the urge to sound impressive, and nurture your ideas through small, sustainable drafts.
Creativity Development Guide
Reflection & Practice
Giving Your Ideas Space
What is one idea, project, or creative urge you have rushed or abandoned because you were overly focused on the outcome rather than the work itself? What would it look like to give that idea thirty minutes of your attention today without demanding that it be perfect?
Continue Your Journey
Take the Eight Forms of Love Test
See how your love for your ideas compares with your care for your work, your relationships, and the truth across 48 reflective questions.
Explore the Book: Why I Care
Read the full story of creative blocks, finding your authentic voice, and finishing what you start.
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