Importance of Finishing
As a child, I was told about the adage - “ well begun is half done”. That sounded great. Having taken it to heart, I start many projects with great fanfare—the things that catch my eye. However, looking around, I am surrounded by a plethora of half-finished projects.
Starting a new thing is filled with enthusiasm, hope, and excitement. There are dreams of conquering the industry. The excitement and rush are usually for the latest, most talked-about thing. It looks easy to master, and if someone we respect so little can do it, then so can we. The side project we are working on will make us millions
However, once the initial rush subsides, the people leave, and one hits the first practical problem: the enthusiasm starts to taper. The reality strikes that it is not that easy, and many new skills have to be learned, and issues need to be solved.
No project is ever abandoned. It is usually paused while one takes a break to recover from the effort put in. In this break, the next shiny new thing catches our eye and we pick that up - the cycle repeats.
However, there are no prizes for starting projects. No ballads are written for people who began projects with great fanfare. Nobody tells their stories. People do not hate them either. They are usually not talked about. Forgotten - not even worthy of ridicule.
Because true success is about finishing things. That batsman who finished the match by hitting the winning runs. The contractor who completed the world-class road, the developer who released the next big app. The graduate student whose PhD thesis prompted people to think in a new way.
The journey of finishing is lonely. But the reward only comes at completion.
Otherwise, one is forgotten - drowned in its own mediocrity.
