The Only Purpose of Starting is to Finish

I got sober when I was 20.

November 1, 2000 was an incredibly important marker in my life.

November 1, 2000 was my start.

For years I focused on what I needed to do on a daily basis—habits—to keep building an important body of work.

I stopped for one day in December of 2017.

Not doing the work—the daily habits—got me in trouble.

For 4 years I had fits and starts of working on sobriety.

Starting was the easy part.

Starting on a daily basis—the daily habits—was the hard part.

But, as I had learned, that’s where the change—the growth—lives.

Exactly a year ago, I made a decision to start again.

By engaging in daily habits, and consistently working on those habits, I’m able to look back today and see a body of work that I’m proud of.

Growth and change—the achievement of BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOALS—are the result of adding up little things on a consistent basis.

Over the past year, 1 day became 1 week.

1 week became 1 month.

1 month became 3 months.

3 months became 6 months.

Before we know it, we surprise ourselves and realize that a year has passed:

“Wow, look what I’ve done.
Look at how much I’ve grown.
And, all I really had to do was make a commitment to do the little things today.”

Why am I sharing this?

Because that is the exact point of Start. Club that many of this newsletter’s readers opted into 16 days ago.

To start engaging in a daily habit—20 minutes of exercise—consistently over a period of time.

On July 13, 2022 they—YOU—started!

1 day became 1 week.

And, 1 week has quickly turned into 2 weeks.

And I get messages all the time about the successes, challenges, lessons, and, yes, even failures of people who opted to start.

“I am still doing the 20 minute a day challenge. Doing well!”

“Barely moving while doing it, but was moving…so felt good about that.”

“Not sure what those 20 minutes each day will bring, but I hope to give it my best shot as an investment in the future.”

“Trying! I missed a few days sadly, but have a new routine made that I’m confident I can do every day even if work or family stuff tries to jump in the way.”

By starting—and then learning from the successes, challenges, lessons, and, yes, even failures—we’ve embarked on a journey.

And, the only way to realize growth and change is to see the journey through to the end.

As Seth Godin says in his book Linchpin, “the only purpose of starting is to finish.”

And, the only way to finish is by moving…

…onward,