Many of the greatest feelings of satisfaction can result from the times you were able to "Think through, Focus and Finish Things!" Throughout our lives, we will always be faced with a multitude of challenges. As young children, we were challenged in school with math problems, homework assignment and projects. Then we moved on to high school and the math gets more difficult; the homework assignments more time consuming; and the projects more complex. If you continue on to college, expect a repeat of the same, less perhaps the math, unless you major in a field that requires math. Ditto if you happen to attend grad school.
After attending many years of school, do you think life gets any easier once you go to work to earn a living? I think not! You come to find out that your career can be more challenging and demanding than school ever was. After all, you're now being paid well for your services and a lot more is expected of you. The projects you receive have deadlines that are critical to your future. Your job may require you to work nights, weekends and skip a planned vacation, just to come through on your commitments. Those that reach the top in their field are those that come through – efficiently and effectively.
But hold on! Your commitments and challenges don't stop at work. You have plenty of challenges at home to deal with as well. Family challenges can be even more demanding than your work challenges. Your spouse and your kids at all ages require time, energy, resources and lots of patience. And let's not forget about your financial challenges that you have to deal with. The bills never stop hitting your mailbox. There's also a steady flow of decisions you need to make about medical insurance, homeowners insurance, car insurance, life insurance and you name it insurance! In between these decisions, you occasionally get sick; your car breaks down; your washing machine stops working and your computer crashes.
I think you get the point by now, that life can be full of challenges. We only skimmed the surface here. But, I'm not writing this article to depress you. I only mentioned the above challenges to lead up to the title of this article; which is that you can solve every one of these challenges, one by one, by focusing, thinking and finishing. After doing so, you can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a moment of satisfaction, knowing that you are done; you did your best; and now have to move on to your next challenge.
I feel this way every April, when I finish filing my income taxes. Lots of thought; lots of focus; finish; Ahhhh! Do you know what I mean now? This same system works for just about anything you know has to be accomplished. You need to think through each challenge; focus like a laser beam on all the probable solutions. Choose your course of action. Then stay on that course until you have totally completed what needs to be done. Avoid distractions. Avoid procrastinating. Avoid making excuses. Avoid playtime. Just get it DONE!
The sigh of relief and the feeling of satisfaction that occurs simultaneously, after you FINISH whatever commitment, project or challenge that needs to be accomplished – is worth its weight in gold. At least it is to me. I share this with you, because I believe it can lead to more happiness and satisfaction in your life. You become stronger mentally with each completion. And you don't feel like the world is crashing around you because you are bringing closure to your challenges one at a time. And you become better with age like fine wine.
Too often, I am surrounded by individuals who can't bring closure to their challenges and commitments. They talk and talk and talk about finishing. But they just can't seem to get to home plate. They always seem stuck on first or second base. In doing so, they tear down their self esteem and rarely feel accomplished and happy. They walk around with monkeys hanging all over their backs and seem like they are trying to travel across the country without a road map. They just keep waiting for that one lucky break that never seems to happen.
I am a firm believer that luck follows those that MAKE THINGS HAPPEN in life. And your first lucky day can begin when you learn to think, focus and finish. Don't try to attack ten challenges at once. Prioritize your challenges. Think, focus and finish one at a time in their order of importance. And watch your skills grow to enable you to take on the onslaught of challenges you will continually face in life. After the completion of each challenge, make sure you take the time to enjoy some moments of satisfaction. This will rejuvenate your mind and spirit to move on and successfully round the bases in any stadium you play in. It's a proven plan that really works!