Your half-finished projects and why day 2 is important
Enjoy the gift of done 🎯
Setting new goals is easy but finishing them is hard. I am sure we all have been through this.
Here is what happens: you enjoy a task (like I love jogging), then setup a massive goal (5K every day), meet your goals for few days and then no trace of the task
If you dream too big at the start, you curse your finish: Jon Acuff
One of the major reasons why most don’t end up achieve their goals is the notion of perfectionism. We start way too many projects, aim higher, aim for perfection - and the project ends up half-finished, resulting in frustration and lack of confidence.
Getting started is hard, but it’s easier than finishing. You may have a bunch of half-finished projects and other half-done stuff. Many people make New Year’s resolutions, but research says that 92% of these intentions falter and fail.
The less people aimed for perfection, the more productive they became. Perfectionism kills momentum and keeps people from completing their goals.
“This is the first lie that perfectionism tells you about goals: Quit if it isn’t perfect.”
AtomicIdeas from the book, Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff.
Many of us are way too perfectionists to finish a job. But Jon has a different perspective on this.
Perfectionism will do its best to knock you down when you work on a goal.
Excuses are camouflage for perfectionism. You weren’t perfect, so you threw in the towel.
But more than just analysis, perfectionism offers us two distinct distractions: Hiding places, Noble obstacles.
A hiding place is an activity you focus on instead of your goal.
A noble obstacle is a virtuous-sounding reason for not working toward a finish.
Both are toxic to your ability to finish.
Everyone wants to get straight As. Nobody aims for Bs and Cs. But getting straight As is challenging and intimidating. That’s why many people don’t even bother trying.
If you dream too big at the start, you curse your finish: Jon Acuff
Day 2: The Reality
Starting toward your goal on Day 1 isn’t the most crucial step. The crucial step is putting in Day 2, the day after perfect.
Fifty-Percent Complete
If you want to achieve your goal, aim for 50% completion. That is, cut your goal in half. This will work especially for goals like losing weight or running in the morning.
The Two Tactics
Slicing your goals in half or extending your timeline may feel like “cheating,” but either step will make you much more likely to reach your targets.
Starting small may feel unnatural at first, but you will achieve big results.
Choosing Your Failures
Time is your most valuable resource. To achieve your goals, pour that resource into your efforts. That means prioritizing where and how you spend your time. When you give some of your time to one goal of necessity, you take that time from another goal.
You can’t have it all no matter what you try to do.
Stop being perfect in everything
If you’re like most people, you spend your life aiming too high. You don’t have to lower your standards, just stay realistic about your time frames and what you can accomplish.
You have only two options right now.
Attempt more than is humanly possible and fail.
Choose what to bomb and succeed at a goal that matters.
Data Don't Lie!
Unlike emotions, data don’t lie. Use data to measure your progress. Data clarify where you are, but you may find them hard to use. Ignorance is bliss. It’s so much easier to avoid checking your bank account, stepping on a scale, making doctor appointments, and so forth.
If you buy into the lie of perfectionism, you may avoid the objectivity of data.
All the best achieving your goals!
 | A guest post by
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