It’s not how you start, but how you finish

Yeah, I do not buy this at all. Sure, yes, the finish is important, but I would argue the start is far more so.

Consider a race…we’ll make it a short one…5 kilometers. A personal best time, for me, is around 27 minutes. That translates to roughly 9 minutes per mile. If I had a poor start, say a bad 1st mile, there is no hope of beating that 27 minute mark, no matter how brilliantly I finish.

That start needs to be around the 9 min mark before I consider a PB possibility.

Let’s look at school…if your grades for your first semester in college fail to be perfect, there will be no 4.0 upon graduation. Sure, it can be brought up, and you could potentially graduate with a 3.99, but we are all aware that a 3.99 won’t show up as a 4.0 on your final transcripts.

The first set of classes need to be all A’s for an individual to consider a 4.00 possibility.

What about a book club…there is a set date, in theory, by which the book is to be completed. Sure, I might finish the book, and I may read a bunch of pages on that final day, but how much better would I understand if only I had begun the book days earlier than I did?

Procrastination may be all that is required to remove any thorough reading possibility.

A financial account…so what if you open your account, but when starting your bookkeeping, the wrong number is used. The calculations throughout could be perfectly performed, and the information as precise as possible. The end is going to be flawed because you had an incorrect start.

That flawed start, no matter how correct the rest is, removed accuracy as a possibility.

With this in mind…

I’m preparing for a jump, readying for the start, because that sets the tone. My Master’s program is over this December. I need two B’s to complete the coursework. With my final project having been already approved, my work here is done.

So what’s next?

Who freakin’ knows. The only thing I know for certain is the next step will be permanently out of Texas.

I read Lauren Martin’s article “Staying is Settling,” in which she highlights reasons to get up and go. Almost all of them apply to me.

I’ve been in San Antonio too long…I’ve never lived in the midwest/northern part of the country…I have zero interest or prospects for a relationship, should I stay here…besides, relationships in Texas have been one disaster after another…finally, I can purge all this junk and begin again…

New location

New school program

New job

New life

I just need to nail this start.

-G