Going For The Big Finish
A quick story… on a green and blue planet called Earth, there once was a human who really, really, really wanted to get something amazing in life. There was lots of excitement in the dreaming, and then in the planning and preparing, and then the launch of the whole thing… it was incredibly exhilarating! And then, as time went on, it became evident that it was going to take more than what was originally known, there were more challenges than accounted for in the beginning, and time seemingly slowed down in the middle of going for the big goal.
In fact, time seemed to slow down so much that the person seemed to be moving underwater. And then, just before the big breakthrough, the person gave up, surrendering to what felt like was the inevitable, and quit – just before crossing the finish line because it seemed too far away.
You’ve heard that story before, right? Maybe you’ve even lived it… experiencing the agony of defeat while you’re still in the middle, and then never reaching the end. Or maybe you do actually reach the end, but you’re so exhausted that you don’t really get to enjoy it. Or the end isn’t what you thought it would be, so it’s anti-climactic. Or you get just close enough to see the finish line, and you decide that’s good enough and there’s no need to go any further. Any one of these scenarios is enough to suck the life right out of a person (much less all of them at once!).
And that’s why you’ve got know how to go for the big finish in the most efficient, focused and clear way possible. This year is sliding by fast, and it’s vital to keep up your energy through the end. You’ve got to know what you’re going for and the best way to get there – including conserving and allocating precious resources and, ideally, having more fun.
So first off, you’ve got know exactly where you want to end up – what is the result you want? Without definition, you won’t know when you get there. However, that also means you have to know where you are when you start… after all, you can’t plan how to get to Los Angeles unless you know where you are when you begin your journey.
Then, set yourself up with ‘clean’ sources of fuel, or energy. Surround yourself with positive people, a friction-free environment, and good nutrition physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Think what would happen if you put sludge in your car’s tank – you wouldn’t get very far. That is the same dynamic that you want to prevent for yourself as you go, so be sure to take in clean ‘fuel’ for cleaner, more efficient results.
Third, pace yourself for the whole journey so you can handle the unexpected as it comes up. Sometimes it’s easy to start out strong and then fizzle out, but there are professional racers who actually start out slow and wait for the last push to break out their turbo speed in crossing the finish line. Whichever your strategy, you need to be consistent in using your energy and resources to sustain you for the whole journey.
That being said, fourth, remember to replenish yourself often… consider your car again; that is, if you didn’t fill your car’s gas tank regularly on a cross-country road trip, you’d make it through maybe the first leg of your journey and that would be about it as you ran out of gas. The same goes for you – if you need to fill up, take the time to do it so you can keep going for a big, strong finish.
Sixth, be prepared to adapt to what shows up for you along the way. To do that, you’ll need to trust that there’s a bigger opportunity in the challenges, and that you are being invited to become more resilient and to follow what presents as you go. If you stayed fixed to the original plan, you may miss an important part of the magic in your journey.
Seventh, stand your ground. That is, adaptation is important but at the same time, don’t compromise yourself or what you want. Flexibility is good, but only when it doesn’t cause you to feel like you are losing out, giving up or somehow diminished in the process. This requires you to ‘know what you know’, firm in your wisdom despite outward appearances. Additionally, the opinions, reactions or expectations of other people cannot influence what you know; your choices and decisions must come from within you throughout your push for the big finish.
Numerologically, the number eight is the symbol for harvesting what you’ve sown. In this case, the eighth point means taking responsibility for what you’re creating in order to finish strong. You can’t avoid being accountable for what you’ve created; nor can you hide from the greatness that is yours. Either way, you are the only one who is present all the way along the journey and, to enjoy the big finish, you have to claim it.
Lastly, no one is an island and that includes you. Honor the people who are helping you along the way, because it’s a lot more fun to celebrate your big finish by sharing it with the people you know and care about. Sometimes the inspiration of that moment is enough to pull you through that final push to your big finish… as you honor others, you are so honored.
So, your big finish is waiting for you right now. Keep going! You’ve got the plan. Most importantly, get ready to claim your “something amazing” reward because you are just about there. (And if you listen close enough, you can probably hear the distant roar of your fans getting ready to celebrate your big finish.) On behalf of the other humans on this green and blue planet…go, go, GO!!!!