Book Notes: Finish.

To be fair the chances of me completing a book called “Finish” seem higher than for other books. The title alone stares at you, judges you a bit until it’s done. 

I’ve written before about my tendency to pull back right before something big is completed: Self sabotage, finishing your writing, and the power of deadlines are just a few on that theme.

So this resonated with me. Here’s what stuck out from reading this one: 

1. Cut your goal in half. The author pointed out we over estimate our ability to finish something big, so we set the goal too high, and then don’t finish at all. Trying to “edit your entire book”? Change that to editing half of it. Or the first 3 chapters. After all, you can always set a new goal once you’ve achieved the half one, and you’re far more likely to be motivated because you DID achieve it.

My half goal: Lose 25 pounds. I’d like to lose about 50. Maybe more. But this concept of a half goal challenged me: the big one is too big and i keep avoiding it.

2. Data is a gift. “That’s all data is: a gift from yesterday to make tomorrow better.” If you don’t track it, or check the numbers, you’ll either inflate your own perception of success, or get overly discouraged because it doesn’t look or feel like you’re winning (when the data says you are).

3. “The day before done is terrifying.” I can attest to this. The number of times I’ve literally stopped or given up or run backwards or gotten sick before the ‘done’ day would be worrying except that it’s so common. I can power through a lot, but when I suddenly see the finish line ahead, I slow down. “You are inches away from finished and perfectionism knows it…into that space, perfectionism gets louder.

4. “Boats were built for water.” This means, don’t worry about what’s next. Part of the fear of finishing is starting to plan for the next thing – but what if you don’t know what that is? Don’t worry about that. If you’re building a boat, build it, and don’t worry yet about how to get it in the water and whether it will survive perfectly and what kind of storms you’ll have…build the boat. Get it out into the water.

5. The imagined feelings may not arrive. One of the let-downs with a big goal is how we imagine we’ll feel. I think I will be floating on a cloud of happiness, so proud and honoured, with ticker tape parades flung in my honour, waving like a queen to the right and the left. In reality the feelings can be ‘is this it?’ or ‘omw I am so tired’ or ‘huh…no one really noticed’. The line which struck me was “It won’t be perfect. It won’t. Not because you did something wrong but because life doesn’t work that way.” Perfectionism wants you to think you’re in  movie; finishing reminds you of reality, and that can sometimes be a bit of a bump. 

6. “A goal unfulfilled may grow dim, but it never goes dark.” If you’re thinking yep, this all resonates, guess I won’t really finish then….you will. Because if it’s a goal you have and it’s rooted deep into something you know or believe or want, it’s just dim right now. Never fully dark. And the slightest thing can bring the light back. 

What is it you want to finish?