Do you finish what you start? Do you possess enough inner strength to follow through with whatever you start doing?
How many times have you started to do something with enthusiasm and energy and then lost your enthusiasm and energy after a while?
How many times have you made promises to yourself and others, intending to follow them through, only to forget your promises after some time?
Sometimes, we don’t finish what we start because we realize that:
- We don’t really want what we started doing.
- What we want requires too much time or money than what we are willing to invest.
- We realize that we want more important things.
- We have a gut feeling that this is not the right thing to do.
- Sometimes, we make a promise and start doing something about it without prior thinking and analysis. After a while, we realize it is a mistake and decide not to fulfill it.
- We start doing things at times due to temporary enthusiasm, but when the enthusiasm wanes, so does our desire to continue.
The Decision to Quit
Our decision to quit what we are doing might be sometimes justified or unjustified at other times. The problem starts when you quit due to lack of self-discipline and perseverance. If we lack self-discipline and perseverance, how can we achieve anything, even negligible, minor, everyday tasks?
How do you feel when you quit what you are doing repeatedly because you lack self-discipline and perseverance? Do you feel frustrated? Do you lose faith in yourself?
The good news is that you can develop these two important inner assets.
- Think before you take action. Many of the projects we quit, we start without thinking and without analyzing their usefulness.
- Make your priorities before you start. What is more important now?
- Whenever you feel that you are losing enthusiasm and interest, start thinking about the benefits and how your actions will benefit and improve your life and other people’s lives.
I won’t tell you, “Stick with what you are doing, no matter what,” because if you need to be told these words, it means that you lack self-discipline and perseverance, and these words won’t help you.
You will need to develop these skills, but how can you do so if you cannot finish what you started? This is a vicious circle.
You need some measure of self-discipline and also a strong incentive to start. How can you develop self-discipline and perseverance if you lack the ability to persevere?
Self-Discipline and Perseverance Help You Finish What You Start
The solution is to start with simple exercises designed to develop self-discipline and perseverance and with tasks that can be accomplished quickly.
Acting this way builds self-confidence and faith in yourself. You will gradually be able to do things requiring more effort. In time, you will develop the skill to follow and persevere with every plan, project, goal, or resolution.
Remember, lack of perseverance stands in the way of success and accomplishment and is also one of the main reasons for failure. To improve your ability to persevere and continue with whatever you start doing, you need to strengthen your discipline.
I will not speak about these exercises in this article since I have written about them in other articles.
For more detailed information, exercises and instructions, I would recommend that you read the book Willpower and Self Discipline, which you can find at this website.
With just a little training, you will start to see results. You will begin to finish what you start doing.
Improve your ability and inner strength to continue and finish whatever you start doing by reading and practicing the exercises in the book Build up Strong Willpower and Self Discipline.
