- Setting goals is easy. The challenge lies in seeing them through the finish line.
- If you’re tired of starting projects and not finishing them, “Finish” by Jon Acuff is a must-read. Learn how to overcome procrastination and perfectionism to achieve your goals and give yourself the gift of completion.
Sometimes, our goals are too ambitious. At other times, we give up prematurely because we tell ourselves that something isn’t worth doing unless it’s perfect.
In this summary, blogger and popular speaker Jon Acuff shares plenty of advice for achieving the goals you have set. One of his tips is cutting your goal in half – as achieving half your goal can give you enough motivation to tackle the remaining half as well.
Table of Contents
What’s inside?
Finish what you start by avoiding the trap of perfectionism.
Recommendation
Setting new goals is easy, but finishing them is hard. In this blockbuster bestseller, blogger and popular speaker Jon Acuff shares his plans to help you actually achieve your goals. Acuff explains that perfectionism, the main blockade to reaching your objectives, delivers a negative message: the lie that something isn’t worth doing unless it’s perfect. People also fail to reach their goals because they set targets that are too ambitious. Acuff advises cutting your goal in half, breaking it down into smaller, more achievable chunks. He also advocates doubling your timeline, choosing how you will fail and making your goals enjoyable. You’re more likely to finish tasks that are fun, exciting and easy. Acuff goes off on long tangents, but his stories remain funny and relatable. We recommend his guidance as a helping hand for everyone who ever sought to complete a goal and just fell short.
Take-Aways
- In general, people respond to two types of motivation: reward and fear.
- Perfectionism keeps people from finishing their goals.
- Most people quit as soon as life interferes or things get too tough.
- Starting toward your goal on Day 1 isn’t the most important step. It’s getting past Day 2, “the day after perfect.”
- To improve your chances of finishing, cut your goal in half or double your timeline for completion.
- Choose where to fail. Failing at lesser things frees you to succeed at what’s important.
- “Make it fun if you want it done.”
- Don’t let “noble obstacles” hinder your goals.
- When people try to avoid an undesirable outcome rather than working toward a desirable one, they’re responding to “avoidance motivation.”
- Use objective data to track your progress and ultimately achieve your goals.
Summary
Perfectionism Kills
Getting started is hard, but it’s easier than finishing. You may have a bunch of half-finished projects and other half-done stuff. Many people make New Year’s resolutions, but research says that 92% of these intentions falter and fail.
“More than likely, you’ve spent most of your life choosing to do more than is possible and beating yourself up for not being able to keep up.”
Best-selling author Jon Acuff believed that he hadn’t been trying hard enough to finish what he started. He thought he was too lazy, or lacked hustle or “grit.” He even created an online video course called “30 Days of Hustle” to challenge people and help them to achieve their goals.
Then University of Memphis researcher Mike Peasley asked to use Acuff’s course to analyze goal setting. Peasley surveyed more than 850 participants and found that those who finished the course were 27% more likely to achieve their goals compared to their attempts prior to finishing the course. Peasley also discovered that “the less that people aimed for perfect, the more productive they became.” Perfectionism kills momentum and keeps people from completing their goals.
“The Day After Perfect”
After Acuff read Timothy Ferriss’s book, The 4-Hour Body, he decided to try a new diet. He vowed to “get serious” about exercising. Ferriss recommends eating eggs, spinach, black beans, salsa and cumin, so Acuff went to Costco because it sells black beans by the pallet. He bought in bulk because he intended to eat black beans for breakfast for the next 12 days. By Day 13, he quit because he got busy, didn’t want to follow through or just forgot about it. But once Acuff broke the daily black-bean routine, he found himself uninterested in starting again. Since his record wasn’t perfect, he stopped completely. “This is a surprisingly common reaction.”
“Perfectionism will do its best to knock you down when you work on a goal.”
People often use language that echoes this sentiment to explain why they’ve quit chasing a goal: “I fell behind and couldn’t get back on track,” or “Life got in the way and my plans got derailed.” These excuses are camouflage for perfectionism. You weren’t perfect, so you threw in the towel. You’re not alone. Everyone wants to get straight As. Nobody aims for Bs and Cs. But getting straight As is challenging and intimidating. That’s why many people don’t even bother trying. They think that if they can’t achieve perfection, why should they make the effort? To finish your goals, simply start and keep going. Even if you make mistakes, keep going. Starting toward your goal on Day 1 isn’t the most crucial step. That’s putting in Day 2, the day after perfect.
Fifty-Percent Complete
If you want to achieve your goal, aim for 50% completion. That is, cut your goal in half. In the “30 Days of Hustle” online challenge, participants increased their performance by more than 63% compared to previous attempts at finishing their goals. Fully 90% of them believed the strategy of cutting down to a reasonable goal “encouraged them to keep going.” Bloggers who set the goal of writing daily posts of 300-plus words can experiment by downgrading to 100-plus words a day for 30 days. One blogger who tried that strategy ended up writing more than 300 words a day for 28 days out of 30. Another person wanted to lose 10 pounds in 30 days, but lost only six. Yet, recognizing that he achieved half the goal gave him enough motivation to continue.
“The exercises that caused people to increase their progress dramatically were those that took the pressure off [and] did away with the crippling perfectionism that caused people to quit their goals.”
Cutting a target in half doesn’t work for every goal. Cutting your credit card debt from $50,000 to $25,000 is a notable goal, but you’d still have too much debt. In such cases, instead of cutting your goal in half, double your timeline. In this example, you would pay more in interest by taking longer to pay off your debt, but you would ultimately pay it off. Paying it off is the goal – not avoiding paying it and potentially declaring bankruptcy. You can apply these two tactics – cutting the goal in half or doubling the timeline – to many goals. Slicing your goals in half or extending your timeline may feel like “cheating,” but either step will make you much more likely to reach your targets. Starting small may feel unnatural at first, but you will achieve big results.
Workplace Goals
Research says that setting realistic goals leads to much better performance than setting overly aggressive targets, but what happens in the workplace where you don’t control the timeline? You may want to have a conversation with your boss about the utility of setting achievable goals. One company took 20 years to make $5 million in revenue on a product. When the CEO suggested a goal of $5 million in the next five years on a new, untested product, employees were not happy. After a year of frustration, the company altered the goal several times and ultimately discarded it. Make sure your workplace goals are the right size from the beginning.
Choosing Your Failures
Time is your most valuable resource. To achieve your goals, pour that resource into your efforts. That means prioritizing where and how you spend your time. When you grant some of your time to one goal, of necessity you take that time from another goal. You can’t have it all no matter what you try to do. Yes, you can squeeze in a few extra things if you structure your days differently. Even so, you’re going to miss out on something. Instead of biting off more than you can chew and failing, choose what you’re going to fail at and succeed at something that counts.
“Perfectionism has no sense of gray, things are only black or white. You do it perfectly or you don’t do it at all.”
If you’re like most people, you spend your life aiming too high. You don’t have to lower your standards, just stay realistic about your time frames and what you can accomplish. “Say no to shame.” Executive TV producer Shonda Rhimes told Fast Company magazine that she was okay with letting certain things slide. Because she’s busy running popular shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, she doesn’t worry as much about actual running. She’s not ashamed about not having enough time to exercise because she accepts how she must prioritize her time.
“You have only two options right now. 1. Attempt more than is humanly possible and fail. 2. Choose what to bomb and succeed at a goal that matters.”
Acuff chose to fail at keeping up with Snapchat – he never understood the appeal of adding doggie ears to somebody’s selfie – and at following his email, mowing his lawn and staying up-to-date on the latest TV shows. He decided not to binge-watch Breaking Bad or other popular shows. Although some people gain satisfaction from mowing their lawn, Acuff ditched mowing his as soon as he could afford to pay someone else to do it. And he checks his email only a few times a week, since he finds that most emails are not emergencies requiring an immediate response. Email is probably the trickiest thing to abandon because it’s a significant form of daily communication. However, you can identify constructive, less time-consuming ways to use it.
Have Fun and Get It Done
Many people fail to achieve their goals because they think goals must be difficult. One huge lie perfectionism tells you is that goals don’t count if they’re fun. Scientists and others who study goal setting look at various factors, including satisfaction and performance success, measurements that capture “how you felt about the process” and “what you actually got done.” For example, losing weight is a worthy goal, but it’s hard. Motivating yourself to run on a treadmill every day is hard. The trick is to make it fun. Figure out how to add joy to your efforts. Fun is personal. One gym offered a “Hell Week” that required attendance five days in a row at 5:00 a.m. But each day, participants got a big orange star next to their names, and a free T-shirt at the end. Many adults clamored for stars like it was their first day of kindergarten. One of Acuff’s readers, Stephen Nazarian, shared his strategy for tackling a never-ending list of 15 to 20-minute tasks. After work, he starts one more job. When it’s almost done, he turns on his Jacuzzi. He finishes the task knowing a hot tub awaits. The lesson: “Make it fun if you want it done.”
Reward and Fear
Be careful how you package your fun. People respond, in general, to two types of motivation: reward and fear. Some people live for the reward. When they know what they want, their instinct drives them to achieve. For example, paying off their debt gives them the freedom to go shopping without stress, or wanting to fit into their old jeans motivates them to work out. Fear also motivates people: They fear the consequences of not acting. A couple may lie awake at night knowing they can’t afford to send their kids to college. So maybe one or both will take on a second job. When people try to avoid an undesirable outcome rather than working toward a desirable one, they’re responding to “avoidance motivation.” Alternatively, perfectionism sneaks in and makes you think that finishing your goals will have negative results or corrupt you in the process. For example, wannabe entrepreneurs don’t start businesses because they fear becoming workaholics.
“Hiding Places” and “Noble Obstacles”
Sometimes your hiding places – where you go to avoid work – are easy to find, such as watching your favorite show on Netflix when it’s time to clean the house. Some hiding places are sneaky; you think you’re being productive by emptying your inbox, but you’re actually avoiding writing your blog. Identify your hiding places by asking if you engage in “obvious time wasters.” Ask your friends if you spend too much time, effort or money on tasks or hobbies that don’t help you reach your goals.
“Some goals are difficult to cut in half. For those, don’t cut them in half; give yourself more time.”
Noble obstacles are chores you must finish before you can attack your real goals. For Bill, for example, the noble obstacle is a garage sale. Rather than just cleaning out his garage, Bill tells his wife he wants to have a garage sale before tackling the job of cleaning out the garage. What could have been simple is now a 16-step process starting with picking a date, reviewing HOA rules, making signs to advertise the garage sale, hanging up the signs, and so forth. Noble obstacles often rely on the word “until” – as in, “I can’t do my taxes until I know what kind of business I’m really trying to build” or “Karen won’t start her blog until she’s checked in with a copyright lawyer first.” Using “until” as an excuse seems respectable. It seems as if you’re getting all your ducks in a row before taking action, but in reality, it’s just another form of perfectionism. It can lead you to throw your hands up and say meeting your goal is too hard, so you won’t try.
“To use a term coined by author Josh Davis, “‘Strategic incompetence’ is the act of deciding ahead of time that you don’t care about your yard.””
An alternative to saying “until” is saying “if…then.” It sets up a different form of procrastination. You procrastinate or don’t start working because you’ve set an imaginary clock or pre-goal for yourself and waiting for that to happen, you come to feel as if it’s too late to start toward your goal. It’s never too late to try. You always have time to begin.
Using Data
Unlike emotions, data don’t lie. Use data to measure your progress. Data clarify where you are, but you may find them hard to use. Ignorance is bliss. It’s so much easier to avoid checking your bank account, stepping on a scale, making doctor appointments, and so forth. Data will tell you, for example, that you spend too much at coffee shops. If you buy into the lie of perfectionism, you may avoid the objectivity of data.
“This goes against every sappy motivational statement…but if you dream too big at the start, you curse your finish.”
“When you ignore data, you embrace denial.” Having hard information can help you make informed decisions. Take Steve Butler, 48, who used data to examine his career track. Butler lost his job, so he took a “good enough” full-time position to meet his family commitments. It didn’t cover the bills, so he added a part-time job cleaning a dental office on weekends. Butler considered changing his career to work with computers, but he didn’t want to “waste his college degree.” When he studied the data, he saw that he hadn’t wasted it at all. He’d paid about $50,000 for a degree and had worked in that industry for 26 years, so his education cost only the bargain price of about $5.20 per day.
“‘Cut your goal in half’ is not the kind of thing you’d see painted on the wall of a gym. It felt like a cheat, but it worked.”
Butler wanted to take computer classes online, but couldn’t find any that fit his schedule. By examining data, he learned he could squeeze in classes during his lunch break. Although he wanted to take a $20,000 intensive six-week program, that wasn’t feasible. Instead, he studied in small increments every day, day by day, until he achieved his goal.
“Time and again, when I researched what really helped people finally finish, it was a friend who did the trick.”
Information helps you measure any number of things related to your goals: time, products sold, pounds lost, miles run, how much money you saved, and the like. Pick one to three aspects of your life to measure. You may be tempted to measure more, but start small and win big. See how simple it is to track your progress. When you’re successful, you can add in measuring more factors. If you’re not happy with your progress, adjust your goal, timeline or actions.
Jon Acuff is a motivational speaker and a New York Times best-selling author who lives near Nashville, Tennessee. He’s the author of seven books, including the best-selling Finish.
Genres
Innovative, Applicable, Concrete Examples, Business, Money, Business Culture, Job Hunting, Career Guides, Business Motivation, Self-Improvement, Motivational Management, Leadership, Career, Career Success, Motivation, Personal Success, Self Help, Personal Development, Productivity, Psychology, Inspirational
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Wrong Ghost 1
Chapter 1 The Day After Perfect 7
Chapter 2 Cut Your Goal in Half 19
Chapter 3 Choose What to Bomb 31
Chapter 4 Make It Fun if You Want It Done 47
Chapter 5 Leave Your Hiding Places and Ignore Noble Obstacles 73
Chapter 6 Get Rid of Your Secret Roles 99
Chapter 7 Use Data to Celebrate Your Imperfect Progress 123
Chapter 8 The Day Before Done 169
Conclusion 187
Acknowledgments 191
Notes 193
Review
“Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done” is a motivational self-help book written by Jon Acuff that explores the common challenges people face when pursuing their goals and offers practical advice on how to overcome them. The central message of the book is that it’s not just about starting tasks and setting ambitious goals, but it’s also about finishing what you begin. Acuff identifies several key obstacles that hinder progress and provides actionable strategies to help readers complete their projects.
The book begins by addressing the concept of the “Day After Perfect,” where people often give up on their goals and projects because they can’t meet their unrealistic expectations. Acuff suggests that perfectionism can be a major roadblock to completion and encourages readers to embrace imperfection.
Acuff introduces the “noble obstacle” theory, which suggests that people often create excuses to avoid finishing their tasks. He discusses common noble obstacles like fear, perfectionism, and hiding. The book also emphasizes the importance of narrowing the focus by selecting one goal to work on at a time, which makes the process less overwhelming.
Throughout the book, Jon Acuff shares various practical strategies and tips for overcoming common hurdles in the path to completion. He introduces the concept of “cutting goals in half” to make them more manageable and achievable, and he also advocates the use of positive reinforcement through rewards to stay motivated.
“Finish” provides a refreshing and relatable perspective on goal-setting and completion, making it an engaging and practical read for anyone looking to overcome procrastination and achieve their objectives. Jon Acuff’s witty and insightful writing style keeps the reader engaged and motivated throughout the book.
In conclusion, “Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done” by Jon Acuff is a valuable guide for individuals struggling to complete their goals and projects. It offers actionable advice and relatable anecdotes to help readers overcome common obstacles on the journey to finishing what they start.