What I learned when Jon Acuff told me to FINISH
This post originally appeared on elle-tea.com.
I’m proud to say I finished Finish which was not a hard thing to do because this book was AMAZING. I flew through it in about 24 hours give or ta.
Finish is the perfect book for anyone, no matter what you do or where you are at this point in your life. If you’re looking to start something new or struggling to keep your to-do list in check, whether at home or at work or your side hustle, you will find so many benefits from reading Finish.
Jon focuses on this need we have in society to be “perfect” and how it influences who we are and how much we might punish ourselves for not succeeding at our goals and dreams.
How can we possibly finish something if it’s not perfect?
Here are a few points you can start implementing in your life right now to help FINISH.
Cut your goal in half
Instead of wanting to lose 5 lbs a week, tell yourself 2.5 lbs. Instead of writing for an hour, write for 30 minutes. Go for a fifteen minute run/walk versus a 30 minute jog. I’m actually succeeding by cutting my goal in half and less disappointed when I realized right now I would not have succeed with my original goal. We all like to be an overachievers and hope for the best, but we want to feel the accomplishment over the disappointment.
Choose what to bomb
We don’t want to voluntarily “bomb” our children, significant others, employer, or friends, but it’s okay to choose things to bomb that are not as important, including finding someone else to take over the job for you.
Jon Acuff uses the example of paying someone to mow your lawn instead of doing it yourself. I started this a couple years ago, and while saving the money would be nice and mowing only takes about 15 minutes, I dreaded it every day.
Another example is to “bomb” being in the loop on all the up and coming TV shows and movies. You don’t have to be an expert and know what happened on the latest episode of This is Us or Game of Thrones.
Make it fun, weird, and your own
Work on finding your flow and what works best with your schedule and life. If you have a full time job, you find where your can have fun and produce. Just because someone can create until 10am, doesn’t mean you have it.
If you’re working towards reading 100 books this year, one book a week, or one book a month, you get to determine what counts towards your list. A 30 page e-book can count along with a 700 monster.
Create a list of next goals
Once you start creating, the juices start flowing and so many more ideas and projects start to surface. We get distracted by the new and fun and forget we need to finish what we originally started.
One idea of many would be to use a notebook to brain dumb ideas as they come to you — with as much or as little detail as you need to remember. When you finish the current project, reward yourself, pat yourself on the back, and get ready to start a new project.
But keep your focus on the project at hand before starting a new one.
We all need data
Choose ways to measure specific data that pertains to your goals to see where you are at. If you’re wanting to post a certain number of blogs, keep a list and tally. If you want to read 100 books, keep a list. If you’re trying to lose weight, keep a food and exercise journal.
Most important, Jon says don’t overdo it and start with three points to measure and master before adding more.
Conclusion
Now that you’re “finished”, it’s time to go finish more of our goals and projects. Find a way to make it fun, to challenge yourself, and watch all the things you accomplish.
What will you finish today?
❤,
Lauren
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