There are many reasons for things ending up unfinished. In one common pattern, the skills needed to wrap something up turn out to be quite different from the ones needed to do the bulk of the work; you’ve done a lot, but simply don’t know how to do what’s left. (You can write and perform a song on the guitar—but can you record and arrange multiple parts on a computer?) In another, a self-critical impulse takes hold, and what seemed good at first is suddenly embarrassing. Stamina can be an issue: perhaps you just get tired or bored before you see things through. And it’s also possible to be a victim of your own success. Franz Schubert began writing his Eighth Symphony—the “Unfinished” Symphony—in 1822, when he was twenty-five; when he died, six years later, he’d finalized only two of the customary four movements. Some musicologists think Schubert struggled to finish the symphony because the first two movements were so good. You can outdo yourself and get stuck.journey-inline-newsletterinline-newsletter