New Years is often cited as a time for beginnings. Common wisdom holds that starting is always the hardest part of any task. However, I have recently come to realize that, at least for me, seeing a troublesome undertaking through to completion can sometimes be even more difficult than that first step.

The inertia fallacy

A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. That works well for “ideal” physical objects in a vacuum. Our lives are never ideal, though, and we don’t live in a vacuum.

What are the factors that can counter my inertia and tempt me to quit early?

Fatigue

Life can be wearisome! We live in such a fast paced, over-committed, under-rested, over-stimulated society! This is not criticism, but communion.

I feel as though my own life is a constant battle between the desire to simplify and the desire to accomplish more. I want to do more and allow my family to experience more. And yet I long for those times of just sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a book to my kids.

Except I don’t have a fireplace. I’d better get on that…

Discouragement

In the beginning, everything is rosy! My plans are perfect. Everything will be great.

But nothing goes as smoothly as I expect. Even when I think I have accounted for a hefty dose of “reality”, reality often seems to be more hefty than I anticipated.

I call it the Clark Griswold effect. When nothing is going my way, do I give up, or do I press on with Aunt Edna’s dead body tied to the roof of my car?

Feelings of inadequacy

This is similar to discouragement, but I think it’s worth addressing separately. Sometimes it seems like the world is out to get me, but there are other times when I feel like plans go awry simply because of my own incompetence or stupidity.

Self doubt will always be a monkey on my back. I need a strategy to deal with it when it inevitably arises.

What is “done”?

For some people, this may sound stupid, but it is a real issue. When I get 90% of the way through a project and start tying up all the “little things,” I start to wonder how much of the “spit and polish” can be postponed, or even skipped altogether.

Oh shiny!

I have dropped a good number of worthy projects simply because a more interesting one popped up part-way through. This is related to all of the above factors. When I am bogged down in discouragement and mind-numbing details, sometimes any new endeavor looks enticing.

Finish strong

This has been my mantra of late. I find myself repeating it to myself frequently: at work, when I’m fixing a leaky pipe, when putting the kids to bed, when reading the mail, when I’m teaching a Sunday School class of 15+ 2-year-olds.

Finish strong, Dan. Finish strong.

Skip the excuses, Dan

Am I really too tired to continue, or am I just using fatigue as an excuse to stop? It’s almost always the latter.

If I stop to “rest” before I’m done, I often am not able to rest well. I am plagued by worry and guilt over my poor showing, and any leisure or sleep I engage in is fitful and unsatisfying.

I might as well just go ahead and finish strong, then get more satisfying relaxation afterward.

C’est la vie, Dan

If I were to always throw in the towel at the first sign of hardship, then I would never accomplish anything.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

– John 16:33

Experience has taught me that an accomplishment made in the wake of challenge is always more exhilarating and satisfying than an accomplishment made without much difficulty.

It might be a wild ride, but if I finish strong, it will be a ride to remember.

Good enough, Dan

I can be such a perfectionist. But I’m not perfect! Sometimes good enough has to be good enough! I have been really preaching to my children recently that I’m more interested in their effort than in the results.

If I always give my all, then I will always get the best result possible. If I’m not satisfied with the best I can possibly do, then I need to work on my contentment, not my ability.

So don’t make judgments about anyone … [the Lord] will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

– I Corinthians 4:5

I’m not the judge of anyone, not even myself. Just finish strong, Dan, and leave the judgement to God.

Define “done” ahead of time, Dan

One of the tenets of Scrum is the Definition of Done. Scrum does not define “done”, but states that the definition must be developed in the planning stages of a sprint (mini project), and should not be changed during the sprint’s execution.

Whenever I start a project, I try to determine ahead of time what I expect it to look like when I am done. That way I can know what it means to finish strong.

Be mature, Dan

A primary measure of maturity is the ability to endure temporary hardship, and ignore fleeting pleasure, in order to gain greater pleasure at a later time.

If my current exploit is mired in complications, it might be tempting to start working on something else because I know I can make more progress on another endeavor, and making progress is satisfying. In the end, though, I know that this will ultimately lead to less satisfaction.

It is almost always better to faithfully pursue my current task and finish strong. Then I will earn the feeling of accomplishment that accompanies a job well done.

And you?

Care to share? What prevents you from finishing strong? How do you counteract these failures?

 

– danBhentschel