Three thoughts on finishing what you start...

Now there’s a headline I never thought I’d write….

As many of you who are regular readers of this blog know by now, I published my first book on Amazon in late February. When someone asked me what part of the book I was most proud of, I didn’t hesitate:

Bringing it over the finish line.

While I’m proud of the final product - while I’m proud that I believe I finally have a worthy resource I can share with someone who wants to get started in fitness, I am most proud that I, Kim Lloyd, for the first time in my life, finished a thing.

And I know many of you out there can relate.

I bore easily. I have great enthusiasm at the beginning, waning enthusiasm in the middle, and nothing that resembles enthusiasm when I get into the last 25% of something. I’ve known this about myself since the first time I took the Myers Briggs Personality Test in college.

1.  Check that self-talk.

We are what we tell ourselves we are. I know I struggle to keep my attention and interest on a long-term project.

I like starting new endeavors – I love starting new books – new projects – new tabs on my computer (15 right now if you’re curious…); I just love changing the channel after a bit.

But the more I tell myself that I’m just not someone who finishes things the more I believe I’m not capable of finishing things.

We are what we tell ourselves we are. Growth mindset. 

2.  Remember that perfection is the enemy of done.

I don’t know if that’s the actual quote, but it’s the absolute truth in my case. I’m a perfectionist (despite being a self-identified sh*t show). Every time I wrote a section of the book I thought I liked, when I re-read the material later I thought it was awful.

To get over this hump I had to get over myself, first of all. And then I had to trust the opinion of my editor and the people who read the material. Nothing is going to be perfect. But if it’s the best I could do in the moment, then that has to be enough. As much as I’m afraid of failing, no results are better than bad results. Take the risk.   

3.  Let go of immediacy and find an accountability partner.

Remember when you used to put film in a camera? And then you had to send it out to get developed? And then 1-hour photo became a thing? And then digital cameras happened? Then cameras came with our phones?

We’re addicted to immediacy.

Hell, do you remember what we did before Google when we had a question? Look it up in the Encyclopedia. Unless your encyclopedia only went up to the Nixon administration and it was 1988 and you needed to know more about Ronald Reagan.

We don’t have to wait for anything these days. So when our project begins to stall out – and it will eventually lose momentum – we no longer get that dopamine rush.

The main reason I finished this project was that I had someone who offered me gentle accountability. She would ask how the book was coming, and because of her genuine interest in the project, and her encouragement, I learned to set smaller goals and move the project over each hurdle. The accountability made all of the difference.

The most exciting part about getting something like this over the finish line is that it proved to me that I can. The process is long and challenging.

But it’s doable.