As we continue our focus on finishing strong, today’s installment is “Finishing Strong Today!” What I mean by that is while it’s vital to have a goal and a plan for finishing strong over the long haul, it’s also important to finish strong each day. After all, if we finish strong every day when our last day comes, we will have finished strong.
Yesterday was a project day for me. While many folks in western Pennsylvania were in the woods hunting a white-tailed buck, I was in my basement doing some wiring, some painting, and some planning for Friday’s project, which is building an entertainment center with Kenn, my younger brother. I also made a trip to Mars Lumber, where I bought some wood for the “barn doors” for the entertainment center, and my friend, K. C. Matus brought me the remaining lumber for the project, which he had purchased and cut to size for me, since he is a wood worker by trade. I decided to farm out that part of the job, because I want the project to be as close to perfect as possible, and I knew if I hired K.C. for the job it would be.
What does that have to do with finishing strong today? Quite a lot actually. I woke up with a plan for the day, and a to-do list that was as long as my arm. I know better than to make such a long to-do list, because even if I got 2/3 of it done, which would have been quite an accomplishment, it could have still felt like “failure.” Making sure I was aware of that, I tackled the list, and completed it. It took me from my six o’clock start with prayer and exercise, until 11:15 pm when I put the finishing touches on this blog post, but the list was complete. That’s finishing strong today. (Or yesterday as the case may be, but finishing strong yesterday, holds promise for finishing strong again today.)
Today is actually going to be a “normal” work day for me, so finishing strong will be different. I’ll only put three items on my to-do list, but they’ll be significant ones, and when I accomplish them, I will count that as finishing strong for the day. Am I sure I’ll do it? No, at any moment a phone call could interrupt the whole process, and the list will go out the window. That’s the life of a pastor, but it’s also the life of many leaders. We plan our work, but we can’t always work our plan. In those cases finishing strong means choosing the best tasks to do or relationships to build among many different choices.
Part of finishing strong each day is not necessarily doing many things, but doing the right and most important ones. Of course that’s judgment call, but much of leading is making judgment calls. So what’s your plan for finishing strong today? Do you have one? If you don’t why not take ten minutes right now and ask yourself, “What would it look like to finish strong today?” Then pursue that. Taking the time daily to consider what a strong day would look like for that day and then pursue it is a sure way to finish strong most days.
I hope if you haven’t already planned for a great finish for today, that you’ll take a little time to do it, and then live a great day and finish strong.
Here’s to leading better by finishing strong–today!