New beginnings are usually exciting. Whether it is a new job, business, or relationship – there is a high sense of hope and optimism that goes with that. The caveat of excitement however is, it doesn’t last forever. Eventually the job becomes mundane, the business becomes a burden and the relationship is no longer exciting. Sorry for the gloomy picture, but such scenarios seem to happen more often that not.
Imagine a scale from zero to ten – zero being extremely low and ten representing extremely high. The value of something you don’t have, but desire to have, can be represented by ten. Once obtained, the value tends to go to six. When lost, the value of the same thing goes to eight. That is how human nature works.
I have been to many weddings, and the abundance of joy and excitement between the bride and groom is extremely high. It is an amazing and beautiful occassion. Judging from that picture, it is easier to conclude that the marriage will last forever. And yet, more than half the marriages we witness eventually end up with unhappiness, bitterness or even worse, divorce.
Think of the eagerness people have when creating new year resolutions, versus their progress just two months into the year and you hopefully get the the point I am making. It is very difficult to finish what you start. Fortunately it is not impossible to do otherwise.
For the past ten years, I have pursued several goals that I felt were important. Some had to do with my career, while others were more personal. All of the goals suffered the same fate of initial enthusiasm, followed by low interest. However, I managed to achieve some of the goals. What was the difference between the goals that I achieved with those I did not? Commitment.
In order to complete what we start, dedication is required. This is not an easy thing to do. I believe this partly explains why fewer people achieve success – the difficulty of maintaining discipline from the beginning of something we start all the way to the end.
I have heard that when people are dating or married, the feelings of love are very strong in the beginning. As time goes by, those strong feelings start to fade, and the couple have to make a decision to love each other everyday. In other words, there is an effort required compared to the seemingly natural strong desires that were present in the beginning.
Next time you start a project or decide on a goal, remember that the best way to succeed on that project or goal, is to make a decision everyday that you will be committed. There will be days you might not feel like it, but that is when you should push yourself. Have a mental picture – even better, a tangible picture – of the end result of realising your goal. Think of how you will feel when you finish what you start. Good things happen to those who complete.