Don’t Claim Success Until You Have Finished What You Began

As a child, I was always been told by my mom that I needed to be sure that when she gave me a task that I would actually complete it. Not understanding what that necessarily meant I would do things in a hurry. Making sure that they were finished how she said she wanted them done but not understanding that I was not completing these tasks. My father, however, would come behind me and look over things. He wasn’t running around the house doing as much as my mother, therefore he would take the time to contribute to the teamwork he and my mom did. “You didn’t clean this good enough,” or “you didn’t actually fold your clothes, you just threw them in your drawer,” were things I remember him pointing out. I started understanding that finishing was not necessarily completing the task. The realization set in that there are steps to make sure that you actually complete objectives.

As I became older and more mature, I spoke with mentors, God Parents, teachers, counselors, and even parents of some of my friends and began to understand, clearly, the power of completion. My mother would also tell me as I matured, that completion is one of the most powerful things that you can actually do. Success is once you have not only finished but completed what you began.

What does that mean? Well, for example, you wouldn’t start playing a game and not complete it. No matter how much you were losing or winning you would complete the game. Completing that game, whether being a winner or a loser you felt fulfilled you felt as if you succeeded at something because you completed it. You literally completed what you began.

There’s something about finishing that gives you a sense of success.

When we finish a book, when we finish a movie, when we finish our conversation or we fill all points that have been made in a conversation, when we finish a project, this is all completion. Completion is also a form of satisfaction and therapy. It allows you to work through the good moments of something whether it be reading a book and having problems with the new or difficult vocabulary that we may run across. If there is no understanding of the words you are reading then you should most certainly grab a dictionary. This should stay alongside you so that you are able to look up words and have an understanding of the literature that you are reading. This can actually be therapeutic in the sense of enhancing your mindset when it comes down to vocabulary evolution or whether it be simply sending an email.

No matter what the process or the task is completing it allows you to feel whole which is very key in continued progression in life with other things that you may encounter. Many times an individual will not complete a task because they have taken on too much. Though that may seem like a more common thing, I assure you that it is not a good thing at all. There are a number of reasons that you don’t want to go on throughout your day and continue to take on tasks while not completing some of them. One of the top reasons is because it will leave a sense of void in the back of your mind and even through your processes of work. Furthermore, you will continue to practice this which could possibly become a damaging habit that will eventually catch up to you and potentially eliminate a great opportunity in your future both personally or professionally.

So how do we avoid this? Well, there are several ways to actually assure yourself that you don’t find yourself caught in this mental vortex of start, stop, start, finish. Take a look at some of these tips below:

• Be Selective
• Make A Plan
• Keep One List
• Begin
• Keep It Short And Simple
• Plan To Review . . . Then Review
• Don’t Just Finish; Complete, Submit And Go On To The Next Task

By following these simple steps above we can save ourselves a ton of time and get more done and completed. With a list and a plan, there is nothing that you can not effectively take on and complete. By doing this you will feel a sense of wholeness within yourself like I do having completed this article.