Wow?

The downside of Wow is the After.

So you've delivered Wow. What then? Are you prepared to live up to the heightened expectations? Did you plan for anything that can genuinely top that, or was it a one-off success, with everything else up your sleeve simply more of the same, only different?

Or say you've experienced Wow. What happens next? Are you prepared for the disappointment that nothing else may ever compare? Or will you be obsessed with recapturing the feeling again, an addict jonesing for a fix?

Wow is important. It's what inspires, enthralls and captivates us, enabling us to do our best work and feel good about ourselves. Yet for this same reason, there is sometimes a tendency to shoot for "Wow for wow's sake", turning it into an end in itself and not a means to an end. As a result Wow is debased, transformed into so much of the gimmickry, empty promises and shallow experiences that assault us on a daily basis.

Surely there can be more to Wow than this. Perhaps we've become jaded by so many bells and whistles that we need to be reminded that simplicity and sincerity lie at the core of any Wow experience worth cherishing.

Maybe then the upside of Wow will be the After.