Sticktoitiveness

“Finish what you start.” My mother would always tell us kids that when we were growing up, and it went for everything, from eating all of our peas, to completing every question on a test, to reading until the end of a book, to not bailing on a job when it gets difficult. It is still her mantra, actually, and it can be a very good one for those types of situations, but when is sticktoitiveness just failing to admit something won’t happen and that we’re wasting our time plodding through, trying to finish it? I mean, what if I wanted to be President of the United States? I could probably, even now, get elected to some local position and begin a quest, but what are the odds it will happen for me? And what if I decided I wanted to be a professional singer? It takes some real talent for that, and some honest-to-goodness breaks, so is that truly a quest I should try my hardest to tackle? I’m actually asking you, because I don’t know. Maybe sticktoitiveness should be followed all the time, no matter how high the mountain is that you’re trying to climb.

“I was so excited about finding out all the amazing marketing tips… until I actually sat through one class.”

During my first year of college, I took a marketing class. I was so excited about finding out all the amazing marketing tips that were available out there… until I actually sat through one class. It was nothing like what I had expected. Instead, the class was really all about the history of marketing, not the mechanics of it at all. After day one, I knew it wasn’t going to be the class for me, and I had a very limited amount of time to switch to a different course. I made the decision and it was an easy one. I wasn’t sticking with marketing. It just wasn’t for me. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try another marketing class in the future (and indeed, I did). It just meant that particular one wasn’t cut out for me, and rather than wasting an entire semester being bored to death, I was able to take another course that really did appeal to me.

And then there’s books. I remember when I was young, and I would start reading a book for whatever reason. I would get it out of the library, take it home, open it up and prepare to immerse myself in a whole other world. Except sometimes it was a world I didn’t want to even visit, but I felt like I had to finish, and indeed I did. Until the age of 18, any book I started I also finished, regardless of whether or not I was enjoying it. There are scores of books I finished, but I couldn’t stand them from the first page until the end, all because I felt like it was wrong to just put it down. Finally, I just asked myself, “How many hours a year are you willing to waste on crappy books?” The answer came back a resounding “None!” so I stopped approaching my reading that way anymore. That’s when I started to read the first chapters, and if I wasn’t hooked I gave it up.

So, does this mean my mom was wrong or is it just a case by case thing? I tend to favor the latter, because there have been too many instances where it truly helped to finish what I started, especially now that I have a family of my own and I see my children getting easily bored with things. And that made me realize it’s way too easy these days not to stick with things. Our world is now made for immediacy, and if it’s not quick enough for you, something else will be. If it’s not exciting enough for you, something else is exciting enough, and it’s just an app away! It’s become so crazy, so sometime it’s nice just to think back to the good ol’ days when Mom was telling me to finish what I started. It’s still sound advice in most areas, and I’m thankful.

Sam