WOW Word-Of-the-Week #432: Completion
November 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke
Completion – the act of finishing or ending.
Do you like to do projects around the house? What spurs you to start a project? If you finish a project do you feel a need to start another one?
This week is about completion and how it feels. I actually completed a project that I had thought about doing for the last two years. Completing it felt great! It was the starting it that was a problem. I kept
thinking “Maybe I should just pay someone to do it.” One of the reasons I didn’t start was out of fear. Fear that I might make a mistake. Has that ever been a reason you didn’t tackle a project?
I finally decided last week that I wanted it done. So then I took the steps needed to make that happen. When I take on a project I need to give it 100% of my attention. Clearly I wasn’t ready to do that before. But probably more importantly, I decided that I needed to stop doubting my ability to do it right.
I have to say, it turned out great and the sense of accomplishment felt even better than having someone else do it for me. And once I had completed it I felt more comfortable taking on another more challenging project. When I completed that one it felt really, really good!
This week’s focus is on completion. How do you feel about projects in general? How do you handle work related projects? Are you more apt to complete them ahead of schedule? Do you have a tendency to put them off until the last minute? Do you ever doubt your ability even though you know deep down you can do it?
Reader Responses
“I am someone who when he starts something, I finish it. Whether it be at work or at home. Now, there is one project that I started a few years ago at the house that I have not completed. We have a wrought iron railing outside of our back door. I scraped off a good bit of the rust, but never finished it due to activities with the girls or weather or whatever else came up during the warm weather months. So, that is something that I have to finish. That project and a number of other things I want to do was put off last year after we had water flow into our basement during a severe rain storm. Once all of the carpets were pulled out and the base boards removed and new doors were hung, we had to make a decision on getting a system installed in our front lawn to direct future rainwater away from the house. Then my wife had to go through a lot of the clothes damaged in the original storm for our tax deductions. As a result, my regular reading of books and Sports Illustrated magazine was put off. As a result, I have a year’s worth of magazines to read and books that are piling up. At work, I will usually work on a project for a coworker immediately. I don’t put it off. I have never been a procrastinator. My wife kids occasionally about the fact that I am methodical about projects that I do. She is now seeing the same thing in our four-year-old. When she starts something, she does not like to be interrupted until she has completed the project. My 11-year-old is like her mom: she does not always finish what she starts. However, eventually it gets done. Instead of completion, Susan, I would have used the word follow-up. But we all have things we need to complete, so your word selection was correct.” – “Warrior” Joe
“Thank you Susan, I forwarded this to my husband! Ha!” – Linda
“I almost ALWAYS put them off until the last minute and I really want to change that! Thanks Susan! I’m printing out the word COMPLETION and will tape it to my computer screen!” – Christine