When I first took tennis lessons I had a pro constantly call out, "Finish!!"  What he meant was that as I swung through and hit the ball, I needed to finish the swing- taking my racquet and arm through the shot and end with my elbow high and the racquet almost wrapped around my torso. It took a while for me to achieve it and even now I need to remind myself, "finish!"

I have found that I also use that expression when I am in the middle of a project, activity or even asking others in my family to complete their tasks.  "Finish", I say under my breath as I see the rinsed-out, yet not- in-the-dishwasher cereal bowl in the sink.  "Finish", I tell myself when I want to stop running after only ten steps.  "Finish", I will encourage when I want to leave the drop cloths on the floor, the paint on the brushes, and the trim unpainted. 

Turns out the uncompleted project is a common occurrence.  In January's issue of Real Simple, an author described her frustration with having numerous undone projects and explores the why and how she can accomplish them.  She visits a life coach, a psychologist, checks out helpful technology for keeping on task and even hires a personal assistant.  She learns why she is the way she is. She learns that as a woman there are hormonal reasons and times to be motivated. She spends an inordinate amount of money to have a stranger finish a craft project favor for her daughter's birthday party even though she gets much enjoyment from making her own crafts. 

Bottom line:  "Finish".

We might know why we are the way we are; e.g. undiagnosed ADHD or poor modeling from multiple achiever parents.  We might have a plan to save and hire a personal assistant (her NYC based personal assistant cost $85/hour).  We might even have "permission" to finish the task through a work related article.  Yet with all that information, we still feel the weight of unfinished projects and the stress of getting them all done. 

So...

There comes the time when we just have to take the initiative and figure out what is needed to do (watch the ball); pull back our arm in preparation (gather information, tools, resources for what we need); contact the ball (start what is necessary) and finish through with the swing (complete the whole movement or activity without going on to the next).

I think I want to finish some of my undone projects.  Either that, or just get rid of the projects realizing that they will never be finished and why carry all that guilt.  

What about you?  Do you have unfinished projects?  How does that make you feel?  What will you do about them?  What do you need to do to "Finish!"?