Year after year, readers pulled me aside at events and said, “I’ve never had a problem starting. I’ve started a million things, but I never finish them. Why can’t I finish?According to studies, 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. You’ve practically got a better shot at getting into Juilliard to become a ballerina than you do at finishing your goals. For years, I thought my problem was that … thought my problem was that I didn’t try hard enough. So I started getting up earlier. I drank enough energy drinks to kill a horse. I hired a life coach and ate more superfoods. Nothing worked, although I did develop a pretty nice eyelid tremor from all the caffeine. It was like my eye was waving at you, very, very quickly.
Then, while leading a thirty-day online course to help people work on their goals, I learned something surprising: The most effective exercises were not those that pushed people to work harder. The ones that got people to the finish line did just the opposite— they took the pressure off.
Why? Because the sneakiest obstacle to meeting your goals is not laziness, but perfectionism. We’re our own worst critics, and if it looks like we’re not going to do something right, we prefer not to do it at all. That’s why we’re most likely to quit on day two, “the day after perfect”—when our results almost always underperform our aspirations.
The strategies in this book are counterintuitive and might feel like cheating. But they’re based on studies conducted by a university researcher with hundreds of participants. You might not guess that having more fun, eliminating your secret rules, and choosing something to bomb intentionally works. But the data says otherwise. People who have fun are 43 percent more successful! Imagine if your diet, guitar playing, or small business was 43 percent more successful just by following a few simple principles.
If you’re tired of being a chronic starter and want to become a consistent finisher, you have two options: You can continue to beat yourself up and try harder, since this time that will work. Or you can give yourself the gift of done.
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If you are interested in a realistic view of how and why you procrastinate to the point you can’t get things done, then read this book. It’s for anyone who has a tendency to get stuck on goals they set for themselves, and then feel like a failure. You are not a failure! You are not alone! Check out this book and gain a new perspective about what it means to FINISH!
I’m kind of a sucker for self-help books and really liked this one. I thought he explained quite a few things that helped me see where I might self-sabotage on completing goals and projects. It’s a really quick read and I think I’d like the physical copy so I can review certain sections over again more easily.
Bonus for me: I thought John was kind of funny. Listening to the audiobook was fun because his personality and the character he put into his writing totally comes through. The audiobook also has some bonus content, primarily geared toward business.
For anyone who finds themselves perpetually setting goals or starting projects but struggling to follow through and actually complete them, this book may prove helpful for you.
While starting is important (as seen in Acuff’s book START), finishing is really where things count. In FINISH, Acuff points out how the idea of perfection tries to keep us from completing our goals, and he shows us how to avoid this trap, so we can get things across the finish line.
Really great strategies to help you adjust your mindset and finish projects easily!
Witty, entertaining, inspirational, and easy-to-follow — this is a great book. I didn’t just finish reading it, I actually did all the suggested activities (on my blog, for accountability). I’ve been goal-setting for years. This book has some extra and different approaches. It had me reevaluate and update nearly all of my goals. (Which is why I set the book down a few times — to stop to do the activities. To be an active reader. To commit and make the changes.)
I picked the book up when it was on sale, and I’m glad I did. I’d recommend this to anyone who has goals they’ve yet to achieve, or is thinking about setting some goals. Especially to those who do NaNoWriMo — even more so to the writers who have tried and failed at it.
“When it stopped being perfect, I stopped too.” This really describes me as a writer. When I find a scene or chapter that isn’t perfect, I stop. Let it sit until I know how to fix it. And I’ll go for weeks, months, or even years before making any more progress. Writing isn’t an issue. It’s editing that takes me forever. This book made me take a hard look at that.
“Developing tolerance for imperfection.” That’s my hurtle.
“Inadequate to do a job because I don’t know how to do it at that level.” Me. Called out. That’s me when I’m editing. That’s me searching the same document for the twentieth time convinced there’s another error, one more stray comma, another word that should be a stronger one, and one that should be a more common word. Me. So me. Accurate.
“A noble obstacle is a virtuous-sounding reason for not working toward a finish.” Yeah, I have those. A lot of them are editing related. The cuckoo of the dangers of success is another I definitely have.
I like the idea of data as a gift. The idea that data can show that, yes, the bank account is low but more money is being spent on something than was noticed makes sense. Until I looked at the data, I hadn’t slap-in-the-face realized that what took me 72 days to write took 72 months to edit. I can do better. I have to do better.
“It’s one thing to complete your book. It’s another thing to have that book open to feedback from strangers…” That’s what keeps me in the editing cycle instead of the Finished path.
The part that explained the “ignorance is bliss” saying, that blew my mind. That the expression is being interpreted backward!
Not knowing what to do with data– I’ve been there, too. Someone hands me data about something important, but doesn’t give me the next step or any idea what to do with that information… I hate that. Squirrels have definitely shown up because I didn’t know what to do with data.
I have read a few motivational and goal-setting books. I’d say this is tied with Year of Yes for my favorite in that genre. I read all of this book because, come on, not finishing a book with this title is like the ultimate in failure! Also, it was worth reading. Even the parts where I felt called out, I knew I was reading something that could put me on a better path.
The cover with the Finish Line banner is simple and makes sense. The book was very well edited. I feel the book did change me in some way, because it made me be more honest with myself about my goals. I think it’s a great book for authors. Also, it would make an excellent graduation present. Or a holiday present for anyone who sets New Year’s resolutions and fails them soon after.
I am curious which Harry Potter book the author didn’t finish reading, because it says 7.9 of 8 books. There were 7 original books.
Fun book to read, but at the same time gives easy and practical ways to examine what keeps a person from actually finishing projects or goals.