Finish

Give Yourself the Gift of Done

By: Jon Acuff

Narrated by: Jon Acuff

Year after year, readers pulled me aside at events and said, “I’ve never had a problem starting. I’ve started a million things, but I never finish them. Why can’t I finish?

According to studies, 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. You’ve practically got a better shot at getting into Juilliard to become a ballerina than you do at finishing your goals.

For years, I thought my problem was that I didn’t try hard enough. So I started getting up earlier. I drank enough energy drinks to kill a horse. I hired a life coach and ate more superfoods. Nothing worked, although I did develop a pretty nice eyelid tremor from all the caffeine. It was like my eye was waving at you, very, very quickly.

Then, while leading a thirty-day online course to help people work on their goals, I learned something surprising: The most effective exercises were not those that pushed people to work harder. The ones that got people to the finish line did just the opposite— they took the pressure off.

Why? Because the sneakiest obstacle to meeting your goals is not laziness, but perfectionism. We’re our own worst critics, and if it looks like we’re not going to do something right, we prefer not to do it at all. That’s why we’re most likely to quit on day two, “the day after perfect”—when our results almost always underper­form our aspirations.

The strategies in this book are counterintuitive and might feel like cheating. But they’re based on studies conducted by a university researcher with hundreds of participants. You might not guess that having more fun, eliminating your secret rules, and choosing something to bomb intentionally works. But the data says otherwise. People who have fun are 43 percent more successful! Imagine if your diet, guitar playing, or small business was 43 percent more suc­cessful just by following a few simple principles.

If you’re tired of being a chronic starter and want to become a consistent finisher, you have two options: You can continue to beat yourself up and try harder, since this time that will work. Or you can give yourself the gift of done.

Perfect advice for getting things done.

This reminds book me of the story where the truck is stuck in the tunnel and a kid suggests letting a little bit of air out of the tires to free it.

By letting a little bit of air out of your tasks, you make them achievable. Once they're achievable, you get them done.

FREEDOM!

Thank you Jon Acuff for this freedom filled book! The points were spot on for me personally and I needed to hear what you had to say. I am better because of this book and have some work to do!

Awesome

Data says well read and great message. Finish really hits home and made great points for this perfectionist

Finished it in 2 days!!!

Jon's whimsical style had me glued to my headset through two commutes and then could not stop and gave up my Friday night to finish it. The news is not new. He isn't making up new things but instead helps the reader to reevaluate the way they approached different issues and presents a fresh tweak. I've been following Jon on line for a short while but never read any of his books until now. I love his personality and honesty and quirky way he approaches life. I look forward to reading his other books. This one has challenged me in ways that I have had issues of being stuck in. There were so many times I wanted to quote him on Facebook but found there were too many good nuggets to do his message justice. So just read or listen to his dang book. It was a quick and fun read and challenged the crap out of me. Going to have to relisten to it to go back over his big ideas. Thanks Jon. Loved it.

Eye Opener!

Very helpful. I will replay on the way to work and school every day to keep fresh.