Day Five

Facing the realities about yourself is never easy. I have been a poor finisher up to this point in my life. I always start with lots of energy, and fade at the end. I can’t tell you the number of projects that I have started in the past and stopped just before completion. I have numerous projects completed but I never marketed them. My running history is a chronicle of fast starts and running out of gas before the finish line.

One part of this year is learning to finish things in a way that propels me forward.

Mat drills are a big deal these days with college football teams. The cry at UGA is “finish the drill!” That has been incredibly hard for me. Slowly, I am learning the value of finishing the drill.

It was weird the first time I made myself push through and get to the end. I actually got scared when I realize that I was really finishing what I started. I even though about imploding - but resisted the thought. I have thought often about why I have not finished things in the past. Lot’s of logical reasons, I suppose, but at the core I suspect that it had to do more with my inability to see myself as successful than anything else.

I learned something else about finishing things yesterday. Achieving a higher level of success and happiness is also about conditioning. I did an aerobics class yesterday afternoon that kicked my butt. I thought I was in pretty good shape when I started but I slithered into the locker room like a whooped puppy when it was over. There will come a day when I can handle that class, but only when I condition myself to be ready for it. If I am honest, I have not pushed myself to see how good I can be. I instead have been content to pull up short or play it safe.

I wonder how much potential has been wasted because people chose to play it safe rather than finish the drill.

Not anymore. I was at my client’s today until about 9pm. I could have put it off another day, but then I would have left for spring break with it hanging over my head. I chose instead to finish the drill and then enjoy next week.