Why Can?t I Follow Through?

Do you struggle with the act of following through? 

Not finishing what we start is a common problem many people face in their life. It can quickly become a problem as these tasks stack up and start to weigh on us. While there are many reasons we may put things off, here are several of the most common. 

You Are Stuck In Your Habits

One reason you may not be able to follow through with something new is that you are stuck in old habits. You might be unconsciously doing the same things you've always done, and thus you get the same results - failure to follow through. 

To remedy this problem, you need to break your bad habits and build new helpful habits to replace them instead.

You Aren?t Being Proactive

Another reason you might not be following through with commitments is because you aren't being proactive. Maybe you are just sitting around hoping that something or someone will come along and force you to follow through. Newsflash - that isn't going to happen. 

If you want to follow through with something, you need to be proactive and ultimately actively involved in trying to follow through. Taking action is the only way you will ever become better at following through in your life. 

You Have A Negative Mindset

If you have a negative mindset in life, it can be very difficult to follow through with commitments. When you spend your whole day thinking of negative thoughts, the thought of following through with something seems so daunting, and well, negative. 

For example, if your goal is to work out every day to get into shape, but then you spend all day thinking about how you hate working out, how you'll never be in shape, and how you won't ever be the person you want to be, you can guarantee you won't get up off that couch and go exercise. Instead, it's time to try approaching your goal with a positive mindset.

Overall, following through isn't always the easiest thing for us to do. If you find yourself stuck in old habits and have a negative mindset, you can almost guarantee that nothing will change when it comes to your ability to follow through. So, if you want to be someone who follows through, it's time to be proactive and take steps to change your life today. 

What Can I Learn From Tasks I Fail to Finish?

It's quite likely there's been a task you've failed to finish at some point in your life, whether it was a project at work or maybe even one in your personal life. 

However, although failing to finish something isn't a great feeling, there are many ways you can learn from the tasks you fail to complete. 

How Not To Do The Task

The first thing you will learn from failing to complete a task is how not to do it. This lesson might seem a little silly, but it matters - a lot. Learning what not to do, is an essential part of the learning process. The next time you aim to complete this task, you know what actions and behaviours to avoid. The more times you fail, the more ways you learn how not to accomplish your task. 

You Will Learn Something About Yourself

Whenever you fail at anything in life, it will teach you a lesson about yourself. Failure - and more importantly - your reaction to failure will teach you a lot about yourself. It will be an insight into your ability to deal with obstacles. You can also learn about your ability to bounce back from failure. Most importantly, failure can reveal weaknesses you need to address or strengths you never knew you had. 

That It?s Time To Move On

Sometimes, when you fail to finish a task, it may teach you that it is time to move on. While on the one hand, you don't want 

to give up; on the other hand, you need to examine if it is worthwhile pursuing in the first place. 

This lesson is especially true if the reason for failure is completely out of your control. Maybe there isn't a market for that new product idea. Socio-economic issues that you can't do anything about might impact your career. These are times it might be time to move on. 

It's also important to examine if your goals still reflect your current values and needs. If you regularly fail to complete a task, maybe it is because it isn't that important to you anymore? Why waste energy on tasks that don't reflect who you are? 

You will likely come across a task you cannot finish at some time during your life. Don't fret, though. When you fail to complete a task, it can teach you several important lessons. You can apply those lessons to your next task to ensure you can complete it and finally achieve success. 

3 Steps to Finish What You Start

Do you often struggle to finish the projects you start, even when you have every intention of finishing them? 

Believe it or not, this is a common problem that most people face. Luckily, you can follow a few steps to ensure that you can become the type of person who finishes a project once you start it.

1. Make A Plan

The first step to finishing a task is making sure you have a plan at the beginning. It needs to be a plan which you write down. A mental note isn't worth the piece of paper it is written on. You may want to jump in and start something in your excitement, but you might not realize all the work and challenges you will face. When you take the time to make a plan, this will better prepare you for the task at hand, and you'll be able to spot problems much more easily.

2. Take A Break

If you find yourself getting overly frustrated or beginning to loathe the project because you've been working on it for so long, it's okay to take a short break. This break will help reset your mind and focus. You might even be able to solve some of the problems you are facing while you take this little breather. Just make sure that when you set an endpoint to your break, this way you can hold yourself to it and not just abandon the project.

3. Make Small Goals and Rewards For Yourself

As you plan how you will conquer your task or project, break your goal into smaller mini-goals. Then, cross them off and reward yourself as you complete them. It will help keep you on task, and you'll be able to feel as if you are making progress, even if it's small. This progress will do wonders to keep your spirits high while working on the project. The little rewards you are giving yourself will probably help too.

Conclusion

So next time you get excited about a new project or goal in your life, slow down a bit and make a plan, complete with smaller goals and rewards for yourself. Then, as you pursue the project, don't be afraid to take small breaks if you need to recuperate. Chances are, thanks to these three steps, you will be much more likely to finish your new goal than leave it abandoned. 

Fears That Hold You Back From Finishing What You Start

Do you constantly find yourself starting a project you have every intention of finishing, and then you simply don't finish it? 

This failure to finish could simply be you harbouring several fears that are holding you back from finishing what you start.

Fear Of Failure

The fear of failure is one of the most common fears people deal with. Almost everyone will experience it at some point in their life. This fear with undoubtedly hold you back from finishing what you start. 

This fear will hold you back from doing what needs to be done to conquer things that may be difficult or out of your comfort zone. The fear of failure often leads to procrastination. So, to conquer your procrastination habit, it's time first to learn to face your fear of failure. 

Fear Of Losing Something

Although this fear isn't as common as a fear of failure, one of the reasons you may be putting something off is because of your fear of losing something. Whenever you complete a project, you will be putting yourself through changes. 

This change can be scary and may cause you to fear losing something you currently have in your life. It would be best if you overcome this fear. Change is good and realizing this is important. Even if you do lose some things along the way, you are working towards something bigger and better. 

Fear That Others Will Judge You

Another common fear is that your peers will judge you. And this one, unfortunately, could be true. If you have goals, dreams, and aspirations that might seem odd to other people, you may put them off or give up on them forever. 

You might have a nice starter train set in your closet but never act on your plan to set it up because you are worried it isn't "cool" enough. Is that any way to live your life? 

Part of life is accepting that you are okay if people judge you and your actions. You know who you are and what you are doing, so don't let others' perceptions of you change your behaviour. 

Overall, if you are struggling to finish something you've already started, it's probably because of one of these internal fears. The best way to work towards finishing what you start is by learning to conquer these three fears so that you can go on to be successful in all of your endeavours.  

5 Essential Tips to Finish What You Start

Do you struggle to finish projects? Are you currently struggling with a specific project (or ten) in your life that you can't seem to finish? Let me guess, do you have more than a few household tasks on your to-do list? 

Don't worry - you aren't alone. Many people struggle to follow through on their tasks. Here are five essential tips to help you finish what you've started.

1. Make A Plan

First and foremost, the number one way to finish everything you start is by making a plan before you start. A well-thought-out plan ensures you will be aware of the work your project requires and have an idea of how you will proceed. It is also a good time to break the project into smaller chunks to make it easier to conquer. Don't forget to take some time to brainstorm potential problems you may encounter along the way.

2. Take A Break

If you feel overstressed at some point during your project, and it leads to other negative feelings like frustration, it's okay to take a break. A break is a great way to refresh both your body and mind. Get hydrated, move around, find some time to take in the present world around you. 

3. Identify Your Distractions

Maybe you?re finding every reason under the sun not to work on your project. It?s time to identify these distractions and how they may be affecting you. If the distraction is easily removed, remove it. If it?s more of a mental distraction, it may be time to look into something like meditation to help you clear your mind. Whatever your distractions are, it?s time to identify and eliminate them so you can focus on your goal.

4. Track Your Progress

Many projects remain unfinished because they are long, and you lose sight of the end goal somewhere in the middle. To maintain motivation, you need to track your progress on the goal as you go. You may even want to consider rewarding yourself for a job well done at certain points to maintain your motivation.

5. Visualize The End

Even if you are tracking your project, you may find that you've lost sight of your end goal. This is why you should frequently spend time visualizing your end goal in your mind. It will help you remember why you are working on your goal in the first place.

Finishing what you start is never easy, but if you follow these five essential tips, you may find that you can finish it with ease the next time you start a project.