A property of any project that involves imagination—including entrepreneurship, art, writing, etc.—is the risk that it might not work. It’s not feasible to gain much certainty on the project, or even to control how it turns out.

One really helpful framework is precursive faith: believing in the work ahead of seeing any evidence. You need to trust that you will find the work, and that the work will evolve into what it needs to.

Sometimes, you also need to believe that you will also grow into the person that the work needs you to be.

At the same time, keep the stakes manageable. Invest your energy within your means. Create feasible projects you can do within days or weeks, not years. Make sure there is a clear, concrete, path to completing the project. Take on small risks, even if there’s a chance you’ll fail and feel disappointment.

P.S., This topic has long caught my attention, and I’ve written about high expectations from managers, self-fulfilling prophecies, precursive faith in yourself, shaping your expectations, being mindful of the predictions you make, truths formed by conviction, taking an inventory of memories, ambiguity, pronoia, and writing a new future for yourself. I have been looking for a concept like precursive faith for a long time, and I plan on writing more about it in the future.