Don't Finish What You Start
September 26, 2008
Why do we have to finish everything that we start? That is counter-intuitive. That means that we don’t learn anything in the process of doing. That means that only the end counts and not the journey. What if we discover we don’t like what we’re doing? What if we discover that we are not good at what we are doing? What if we decide that we are bored doing what we are doing? Why must we finish what we start?
I don't think we do necessarily have to finish what we start. There's that follow-through thing that parents like to tell their kids, but if you keep doing something that you're not happy doing, you're bound to end up bitter. What good is that? (Not very profound, but I've been on the computer too long.)
Posted by: JC | September 26, 2008 at 05:41 PM
JC, I really wish our parents would instruct us, not to finish anything we start, but finish those things that you must do (for example, HW) and those things that you are interested in, those things that you get into, you find yourself enlivened doing. I know that that is a nuanced discussion, but still, why make us feel committed to everything? This is probably, too, one of the reasons why we stay in lousy marriages for so long; for goodness sakes, why ruin your life, and those in your family, just because you started something that is now so wrong.
Posted by: Laura of Rebellious Thoughts of a Woman | September 26, 2008 at 06:11 PM
Because you can't truly understand the process until you know the end result. Step 4 of 20 may be what leads to the outcome, but you don't know until you get there.
I firmly believe in finishing what I started - like my marriage :)
Posted by: April | September 27, 2008 at 06:33 PM
April, why do we need to see the end when in the middle we intuited how it was going to end? I wish I could flit onto the shoulder of every woman who is in a bad marriage and tell her that it's only going to get worse, not better. Okay, there may be some statistics like there are of people who come out of comas, but do the numbers make it worth the loss of life? At least there would be a comprehension that either a great amount of work is needed, or it's time to skip to a different set of numbers.
Posted by: Laura of Rebellious Thoughts of a Woman | September 27, 2008 at 07:04 PM