My one word for 2021: ‘Finish’
THE last year, that surprising season is finished and the new has come with its promises. The normal challenge that any mother, motivator, mentor, or manager gives at the beginning of any year is that the beginning of the year is an opportunity to set big, brand new and breakthrough goals.
I agree and think more is needed. Setting goals is not the same as getting goals. The finish line is not the same is the starting line. It is good advice to set worthy goals, but often no one asks what happened to that old and oft-conveniently-forgotten goals list. As this year is beginning, press pause and stop hiding behind fingers, start finishing the old goals that you started or proposed. New goals do not necessarily cause node actions when you are used to not finishing.
Urged on by the goal-framing and goal-seeking advice, many people write out long laundry lists of goals, wishes, and desires. Multiply actions that finish, not just actions that start. Whatever happens to these new year-lists, five year strategy goals and and other flavoured resolutions?
For some, those faithful goals-list are soon forgotten in search for more adrenaline-inducing activities. Excuses abound but they are not execution or a substitute for doing. For others the resolutions are kept for a few weeks and because the focus is too weak they are soon forgotten and buried under the heap of being busy.
Self-deception is not delivery. There are no accolades for unfinished races. Merely writing things down does not deliver them regardless of the colour of the ink used or the binding used for the documents. Others keep at their goals programme for a little longer but are soon caught up in many cares of life that finishing ceases to be a priority. Do not let the whirlwinds of life blow you away from focused action. Some goals disappear the moment they collide with reality and the demand for committed action arise. Goals
without a commitment to action are weak prayers. Goals without obstacles are a myth. Resolutions that are not tested for resolve are another blind myth. Life does not change by merely threatening to start or starting.
Between the start and the finish, there are rivers to cross, mountains to climb, rocks to negotiate, difficulties to overcome, and problems to solve and obstacles to obliterate. Do not feel sorry for yourself because greatness calls for great commitment. Stop expecting that you will finish without working. It is not enough to merely wear the uniform if you are not willing to run; and run to the finish line. It is the finishing that ultimately makes all the difference. Many start and few finish. Commit to be a finisher. Let your hashtag be #finish.
Time is short
A lot of people treat a year as though it is a lifetime and forget that one year is a mere 365 days, which translates into 52 weeks, 12 months and in hours 8 760 hours. Nearly 3 000 of these hours are spent sleeping, leaving nearly 6 000 hours of waking time. Do not waste time threatening to finally get up and finish, because time is life. Time moves fast and achieving anything meaningful becomes difficult when you have no set priorities and when you do not finish what you start. Start and finish. Plan to finish. Commit to finish. Then work to finish.
Start and move forward with resolve, focus and action. Do not waste a moment in retreat, regret or retaliation. Do not fight battles that do not take you to the finish line. Resolve to start and then follow through to the finish line. It takes work, commitment, communication and many thankless hours. Be obsessed with the finish line and keep looking at it and fighting to get there. Keep reaching for the finish line and do not turn back until you get there. It is not enough to run without a prize, without purpose and without finishing. Run with vision and with a burning flame to finish.
I believe in goals that are big bold and inspiring. Goals must lead to action, action must lead to progress, progress must lead to completion. Start to finish. Goals are powerful, particularly when they are driven by big dreams, deep desires and confident action.
Do not allow yourself to park in the past or freeze in adversity. Do not allow goals to just be a writing affair, watching affair and a beauty parade. Stop admiring your goals and start doing them. Your goals and desires should be to ensure delivery and that what you start you finish. Starting is noble, necessary but not sufficient. You cannot finish what you do not start. Once you have started stay with the goal, keep holding on and persisting until you finish. This calls for commitment, discipline and focus. Do not give up or stop dreaming and doing.
Your goals reflect the size of your thinking and the place you stand on. Elevate your thinking, multiply your action, challenge yourself to dream, to draw the line on the sand and to drive forward to the finish line. Be finishing oriented not just starting obsessed.
As we start the new year, 2021 have only one word that I am encouraging you to think about, carry with you, write everywhere you can. That word is: “FINISH”. Commit to be a finisher. Value finishing. Negotiate to finish and mobilize action towards finishing.
Unfinished business
Look around you for all the unfinished business and commit to finishing. Finish that book, that task and that assignment or that project. Commit not to simply increase the number of tasks but to finish everything that you started. Do an audit of all the unfinished tasks, Un closed actions and close then. Ongoing is not going to go anywhere without a resolve to finish. Every thing that is still open, close it and deliver it. Just finish.
Start less
Make this your Moto: “Start less and finish more”. Stop chasing too much. Reduce your focus and field of view. You have no priorities when everything is important and urgent. Start less things that do not matter but just clog your diary. Focus on the big rocks and eliminate things that just make you lose focus and attention. Start what you then chew.
Sleep walking
Stop sleep-walking through life. Life is not for dreamers who are not willing to wake up and do and finish. Look around you and the things that you need to either start or stop doing. Have a mind and an eye towards finishing.
Look at your environment and how your context is changing? When context changes, the finishing journey also shifts. Keep reading the signals. Nothing is as much a waste as not finishing or finishing what does not need to be finished anymore. Move while the iron is hot. Act while you have the inspiration but stay on when the fire has died, and finish.
Check what you value and how this affects how you relate to the things that you need to finish. Make finishing a critical value, an obsolete necessity, and code of honour. Value finishing and finishing excellently. Stay in the race until you reach the finish line. That finishing line is already beckoning and ready to reckon. What is your vision of the future? What does finishing mean for you? What can you finish right away? Here’s to a great 2021 filled with great exploits and finished goals and endless processions of celebration.
Committed to your greatness.
◆ Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and growth mentor. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: mkamwendo@gmail.com and His website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com