Upon Beginning
There is a special beauty to beginning something, a special feeling of hope and excitement, and possibly trepidation. To take a step in a good direction is common enough, and I’m so glad it is. The first day of your workout. The hour(s) you spent planning a budget. The book you outlined. I think beginnings are great.
Beginners are many.
Finishers are few.
The trepidation we feel upon beginning is often the fear that we won’t finish. In that sense, it is a bit helpful. Yet, we cannot know the future. We cannot know if we’ll finish. Finishing is a wonderful thing, with special feelings of its own. A fantastic feeling that can’t be gotten with satisfaction any other way.
Do you know what doesn’t have nearly the same amount of power behind it?
Middles.
The eleventh day of the diet is rarely as exciting as the first. In the second month of your job, mistakes aren’t nearly as comical. Three years into marriage, some things about your spouse are driving you a little crazy. Your beginner’s luck is wearing off, as is your concentration. Quitting on accident becomes a real risk. Your ideals have dulled. This is the interesting part. The middle. It’s where the accomplishments are made. The days in between celebrations of milestones are what success in goals are made of (well, that and an obscene amount of failure, as any successful person can attest to. Failures are the building blocks of success, but that’s another subject for another day).
So, as you begin, remember the middle. It is quiet. It is subtle. It is the very most important part of your goal. When you are at the end, remember the middles you went through, and remember the middles ahead, because if you are still celebrating what you did yesterday, have you accomplished anything today?
