Strive to FINISH......It is never enough to just start.

Good day friends. This piece is a follow-up to that of yesterday. Read it HERE if you missed it. As this piece reveals that it is not enough to start something, you must be able to finish what you have started. Yes! to finish means you actually have to start. Finishing only comes after starting. It doesn't just happen. You have to take action and move towards completing the task, reaching the goal, dream. It is not important how you start, it is how you finish that counts. Finishing something you’ve worked hard for feels incredible! It makes all the pain along the way worth it. To finish, you must "begin with the end in mind" - and keep it there! While you work toward the finish line, you must keep your focused on it; pre-live the experience and keep pushing towards it and ensure you finish strong. Finishing strong requires focus, discipline, self-control, endurance and determination.

Having a victory mindset is the key to finishing. It separates the winners from the losers. When you finish, it means that you have prepared in advance, kept the end in mind from the beginning and you have learned and integrated lessons along the way. Finishing is what winners do! You cannot win if you quit along the way. It does not mean you won’t come across stumbling blocks and challenges along the way neither does it mean things will always go smoothly. It simply means you did all you could and never gave up until completion.

One finishing story that always motivate me is the story of John Stephen Aquari. A Tanzanian Olympian who struggled to complete the 1968 Olympic marathon after he fell during the race cutting and dislocating his knee. As he pushed himself through the pain and one (1) hour after the race had already been won, John Stephen Aquari ensured he crossed the finish line. When asked by a reporter why he didn't quit since the game had already been worn, he replied ”My country did not send me to 5,000 miles to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.” You can click HERE to watch the video. You may not finish first or on time but finishing a race or a task fuels your passion and keeps you inspired. No wonder Stephen Aquari finished 5th in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games two years later even with his bad leg. No matter what your goal is, ensure you achieve it not for the sake of winning or the reward but for what will become of you after you go across the finish line.

John Stephen Aquari

Are you prepared to finish what you have started? Or are you still toiling on it? Can you finish that on time? or in a lifetime? By all means, you have to be finishers. Whatever you have started should be realized, must be completed, or finished as long as it is positive and good for humanity. Sometimes it does not matter if someone else finish before you, it only matters that you did not quit. The finish line is never that far. Just a few steps more and you are there! Never let distractions or hindrances stop you from finishing. Strive to finish well and strong.