Are there loose ends surrounding the completion of writing your book or dissertation? If your project is hanging in limbo, it’s a much bigger deal than you realize. This unfinished business is impacting your whole life. As the guys on the reality shows say, “That’s facts!”
Part 2:
You’re Naturally Programmed to Finish what You Start… and to Succeed!
Unfinished business is not easy to live with, regardless of how much you try. We kick ourselves for allowing significant things to go unfinished for so long. That’s why when other people try to come down on you for not finishing what you began, it grates on your nerves so much; you already do enough of this to yourself, so you don’t need anyone else’s contribution. You’re already disappointed enough in yourself. You walk around feeling a combination of frustration, anxiety, embarrassment, shame, discontent, and even failure.
There’s a reason for this: we are naturally programmed to finish what we start. As a result, finishing feels good. Conversely, not finishing feels bad – so bad, in fact, that it makes us sick. If we weren’t naturally programmed this way, how else would we be able to get anything done in life? We are wired in such a way that if we don’t do the significant things we set out to accomplish, our hearts and minds simply cannot rest with contentment. Isn’t it amazing? We were naturally programmed to succeed, not to fail!
Think about it: if our programming says, “Don’t fail” but our actions say, “Awww, shut up and let me fail!” you can live a life of failure… just not a comfortable one. You can live with things unfinished, but you won’t do it in peace, because your heart won’t let you! It will nag at you incessantly, not allowing you to rest until you pick it back up and run with it. There will be no peace until there is completion. The heart that is sick because of unfinished business – hope deferred – has been assigned to restore you to health by moving you out of a state of deferred hope to realized hope. That means you got what was undone done!
My friend, you were programmed by the Creator to finish what you began. Whatever you’ve allowed to get in the way is not merely an obstacle; it is an impediment to the very way in which you were created to function! Therefore, dare to be who you are… the you that you know you are capable of being. The you that was created to complete significant things so the world can recognize and benefit from your greatness.
People tend to leave many things unfinished: A plan to lose weight and live a healthier life. Restoring a relationship with a long-lost family member or friend. Getting a business or non-profit up and running after the initial legwork has been done. Finishing a book you began working on years ago. Finishing a program or licensure. And yes, finishing your dissertation so you can complete your doctoral degree.
Whatever you’ve left dangling and undone in life, whether it’s your book, dissertation or something else, pick it up and begin again. For your own psychological well-being and sense of peace, for goodness sake, pick it up and begin again.
(Interested in more? Be sure to read the next post in this series!)
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Shannon Williams, Ph.D., is the Founder and Chief Executive Nerd of Geniuscribes, Nerds with Pens. For more than a decade, she has helped doctoral students complete their dissertations and aspiring writers complete their books. She is a nerdy, fun-loving, dog-obsessed foodie who loves Jesus, unpretentious people, sunshine, and coffee. She is a die-hard Houstonian and Texas Longhorn living in Atlanta, where Chick-Fil-A sells collard greens and macaroni, and the tea is as sweet as the people, much to her delight. You can reach her through her team at support@geniuscribes.com if you like. Or not. Whatever butters your biscuit! Oh yeah… she loves those, too.