Sometime ago, I was a cross country runner. In my first year of running, I managed to qualify as one of the top five from my high school. I hated standing at the starting line waiting for the gun, but just as the gun went off I went into the zone. Over and over again I said, "finish, just finish."
Over the years, my sister and I have made family plans and created lists of things that had to be finished. Some of the items were so simple: do the laundry, wash the dishes, go shopping. Sometimes I think we made the list long just so we could say we got it all FINISHED.
Each January, I sit with my kids and have them write their annual goals, things they would like to accomplish and finish before the end of the year. We review the list each December; talk about what we FINISHED and what needs to be revisited.
Last week, the idea of finishing came rushing back to me as I sat and listened to a lady talking about the great accomplishment of crossing off the FINISHED items on her to do list. I laughed when she said she writes things down just to say she FINISHED them.
As I analyzed the idea of finishing, I realized that "to finish" something implies that you have completed a cycle. You had to start something in order to finish it. Mike Spraklin's philosophy of rowing says that the finish is the aspect of “sending the boat away.” It is actually here that the feet are pushing the boat away while the arms are working with the body and oars are leaving the water. Wow, what a wonderful picture of the entire cycle.
To take the analogy out of the world of sports and to apply it to everyday life would mean that you have to first believe, work your belief, and then finish!
Will you chose to be a finisher?
Original Blog written by Demene Benjamin for CareerKids.com
To learn more about the author, please visit www.demenebenjamin.com.
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