I am not a great finisher. I’m a great starter, I can make lists and
plans and phone calls. I can sign up and buy the equipment and make a
commitment… but then somewhere along the line, motivation fades, I stop doing
or attending, and then my new favourite fad becomes another in a LONG list of
‘unfinished‘.
Take roller derby for example. I’ve already explained in a previous post
how my gusto and (two years of) training in fresh meat turned into a big
nothing when I lost motivation and found excuses not to attend the training.
Over the years I’ve done many photography courses and spent a small
fortune on equipment but now my camera and lenses sit in my cupboard unused and
unloved. Over a decade ago I became an avid rock climber and still have my
shoes, harness and chalk bag tucked away in the same cupboard; if I put my
roller derby gear in that cupboard you would see a graveyard
of all my attempted hobbies.
I’ve always defended my willingness to try new things as a ‘lust for
life’ and not worried too much when I haven’t continued them on after the
initial shine wears off. But as I’m growing older I’m starting to wonder if
this eternal wandering to the next thing is a character flaw; an inability to
finish.
That was why I was so gutted when I didn’t finish the roller derby
training. I’d promised myself, THIS time, I was going to do everything it took
to see it through, and I failed. In hindsight, had I known the time commitment
I was going to have to make, I might have reconsidered taking up the sport.
However, that drive to complete something I set out to do is still strong.
Today, I thought, “I don’t need to blog today; I know I set out to write
every weekday to create a new habit (thanks ZenHabits), but I already missed one
day when the server went down so if I miss another day, who will care?” But I
only made the commitment to do this just over a week ago! I can’t give up
already?!
So this is good practice for me to keep doing what I said I would do.
With no ‘finish’ date to aspire to I’m not sure how I can succeed at this task,
other than to just write. Every weekday.
Are you a good finisher? What methods do you use to keep yourself on track?
