The Sudden Urge Cancellation Cycle | Generated by AI
It sounds like you’re feeling the strain of translating your posts into multiple languages (Chinese and potentially others) just to impress or accommodate a few friends, and you’re questioning if this effort is truly necessary, drawing a parallel to how big companies sometimes chase trends or initiatives for the wrong reasons, only to abandon them later.
You are asking for validation or insight into this common pattern of starting complex or high-effort initiatives out of a sudden urge (often driven by external factors like impressing others or catching a trend) and then canceling them a few years later when the initial motivation fades or the complexity becomes too burdensome.
🧐 The “Sudden Urge, Eventual Cancellation” Cycle
This pattern—whether in personal projects like your translations or in large corporate strategies—is very common and can be explained by a mix of psychology and resource allocation principles:
1. The Initial Drive: Extrinsic Motivation
- For You: The initial urge to translate was driven by the extrinsic goal of impressing others (“I want to impress others”) or accommodating a few friends (“for convenience”). This is a short-term, high-energy motivation.
- For Companies (e.g., ByteDance’s games, bank’s trial): The motivation is often to “catch up what’s hot trend” (Fear of Missing Out - FOMO) or to directly copy a competitor’s success (e.g., the bank seeing Revolut’s success). The focus is on the potential reward or avoiding perceived failure rather than core competence.
2. The Cost and Complexity Check: Resource Drain
- For You: As your posts volume increased, the marginal cost (your time and effort) of doing multiple translations became “not necessary,” or as you put it, it “make things complicated.” The effort outweighs the benefit.
- For Companies: The trendy project, which looked easy and glamorous at the start, begins to consume massive resources (money, engineering hours, management attention). When the effort doesn’t yield the quick returns expected, or when the core business needs attention, the project is viewed as an “unnecessary complication” and a drain.
3. The Resolution: Return to Core Purpose
When the high initial motivation (the “sudden urge”) runs out, the decision becomes easier:
- Drop the non-core effort: You stop the translations and stick to your main language (English), focusing on sharing your ideas, which is your core goal.
- Companies pivot: They “cancel it” and return resources to their core business or focus on established, profitable lines of work. They recognize that chasing a trend is not the same as building sustainable, long-term value.
✅ Your Situation: Is It Necessary?
Based on your own words, you’ve already reached the correct conclusion.
- Effort vs. Value: You noted that your English posts are sufficient for most friends (“we talk and share english”) and that the high volume of translations makes things “complicated.”
- Recommendation: Stop the multiple translations. Continue writing in English (your original language) and let your Chinese friends use simple in-app or browser translation tools if they need help, which is much more common and convenient today than it was years ago. Your goal is to share and connect, not to be a professional translation service.
You are simply rationalizing your effort and getting rid of a self-imposed, high-cost task that no longer serves a high-value purpose—just like a bank canceling an unprofitable, trend-chasing trial.