Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done pdfdrive com

Know Where You Came from to Get Where You’re Going
Most people look at the finish line when they find themselves in the middle of a
goal. This is natural. A lot of our motivational literature teaches this approach.
“Don’t look back, you’re not going that way.” “Your past doesn’t define your
future,” we’re told. But there’s a danger in overfocusing on the finish line.
When you do, you lose the power of seeing how far you’ve come.
It’s a lot more encouraging to look at where you’ve come from than where
you’re headed when in the middle of a goal. That changes when you’re close to
the finish line. Once you’re 80 or 85 percent of the way done, it’s a different
story. Seeing the final stretch can propel you, but when you’re firmly in the
middle of a goal, the finish line feels too far away to provide a boost of any kind.
Think about it this way: If your goal is to get to 100 percent and you’re only
at 40, you’ve failed. That’s an F right now, and perfectionism would love to
remind you of that. You’ve still got 60 percent to go. You’re not even halfway
yet. Ugh.
What if instead you looked at the zero of the starting line and could admit
you’re not there anymore. The reality is that 40 percent is monstrous progress
when compared to zero, but miniscule when compared to 100. When you look
back, you can barely see where you were. You’ve come a long way.

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Has the progress changed? Not really, the number is the same, but your
interpretation of it is very different. Dan Sullivan, a well-known marketing
expert, says that entrepreneurs often struggle with this. They don’t just overfocus
on the finish line; they move their horizon, never actually hitting their goal
because they keep changing the definition of success.
Sometimes, to make it through the middle, we have to be very deliberate
about our perception.
My friend Chad Nikazy taught me a powerful lesson about perception. He’s
a triathlete and once volunteered to guide a blind participant through a race. The
swim and bike portions were amazing to read about, but it was the running that
surprised me the most.
During the race, Jeremy, the blind athlete, told Chad, “Don’t tell me when
we’re on hills, okay? I can’t see them, so I don’t feel them. They don’t bother
me.”
The only way he knew he was on a hill was if Chad told him. He found the
race easier if he controlled his perception of it.
Is there a more convicting idea about the company you keep? Right now,
isn’t it easy to think of people who tell you about each and every hill in your
life? They’re not like Chad, hiding the hills from you. They’re doing just the
opposite. But our community isn’t the issue here.
Trying to finish any goal is like running uphill. At the top is the finish line
and in the middle it feels so far away. If you stare up the hill, it’s easy to get
discouraged. You’ll never reach that moment. Fitting into that old dress feels
impossible. An empty, clean garage you can park in seems unreachable. Seeing
your finished book on a real shelf in a real bookstore feels unrealistic. The
distance is simply too much.
But look at zero. Look at the starting line. Look at the bottom of the hill. Do
you see how far you’ve come? Do you see how much progress you’ve made? Do
you see what you’ve done already?
You will, but only if you measure it.