Watching in pain this afternoon as the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team struggled against Purdue, I realized that something in basketball translates very well to personal development: Finishing.
The Badgers struggled all day (and for the past few weeks for that matter) to finish (score) when they got close to the basket. Not all necessarily due to lack of effort, sometimes the defense was too good, sometimes it’s just plain bad luck – if you believe in that sort of thing.
The result of not finishing is simple: you lose.
Similarly, in your own development or business life, finishing what you start helps you win. Assuming the decisions for what you’re starting are the right things for you to do – if you finish them, of course, your chances of succeeding multiply by infinity.
Finishing simply consists of completing the actions as laid out in your plan to start with. If you’ve decided to start a successful blog, for example, you obviously won’t win if you never write. Finishing takes a few things: persistence, endurance, and the skill to accomplish it.
Persistence
You’re going to run up against defense when trying to accomplish goals. These hurdles, if ignored or left to halt you, will certainly keep you from what you’re doing. Have the persistence to get knocked down and try again, finding another way to do it are the only ways to break through.
There’s no question we will all come upon road blocks when attempting to finish, but having persistence gives us the knowledge that we will not let those blocks defeat us.
Endurance
Persistence is only as good as the amount of endurance you can maintain. Persisting through 1 or 2 setbacks may not be enough if some cases. To finish what you start, you must endure through the tough times.
Much of what you need to have endurance is gained simply through un-waivering faith that in what you’re doing is the right thing to do. If you have any doubts at all – persistance and endurance will never organically surface.
Skill
Of course, to accomplish anything at all – we need to have the skills to actually finish the job. Or do we? If you don’t feel you have the skill involved to get past a particular part of your goal, that’s ok, just look for someone else to help.
Whether it’s through a contractor or an employee, hiring to your weaknesses will pay dividends when you’re trying to finish what you started.
Get to the basket and finish. Finishing what you start is not only a good habit to develop, but when put in practice, makes you an unstoppable force that breaks through anything you set your mind to.
What types of things do you practice to make sure you are finishing what you start?
Filed under: Success and tagged with: finishing, outsourcing, persistence.
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