The five phases of mediocrity

Of course, this all was very predictable, and you certainly can't say you weren't warned.
The progress of this blog has mirrored just about every other single endeavor I've undertaken in my life.
It's a five step process, and it goes something like this:

• 1. Idea phase -- In which it occurs to me, often after I've had a gin and tonic or two, that I should do something. Now that something can be a variety of things. It can be running a marathon, riding with the group of bike racers in town on their the weekly rides or playing the guitar.
• 2. Excitement phase -- In which I excitedly embrace something. I read books about the activity. I prepare plans. I buy equipment. I bore everyone around me with constant chatter about fartleks, bicycle tire choices or the fact that the ends of my fingers have callouses.
• 3. Starting phase -- In which I start actually doing said something. This is usually done with a flurry of activity, and is indeed, the most pleasurable phase of mediocrity. Because I am a beginner, I can still harbor the delusion that I might actually be good as said something. This spurs me to greater activity, usually to the point of overdoing said activity. I'll usually end up hurting myself.
• 4. Work phase -- In which I begin to become somewhat proficient at said something, but just enough to understand how much further I have to go to reach whatever murky, fanciful and unattainable goal I have set. Skill levels will plateau, and I'll become frustrated. Reality will set in and I'll become disillusioned. The thought "This sucks" will enter my mind often.
• 5. I quit.

So in some ways, this blog attempt is a resounding success, in that I've gone through the five phases, but have returned to continue on. That's progress. That's growth. I'm so proud of myself.