I have a confession to make:

I’m a start addict.

I LOVE to start new things. Always have since I can remember. My computer’s hard drive is loaded with all manner of projects I’ve started.

The notebooks I’ve been keeping since I was 10 are crammed with creative ideas.

Some have come to fruition. Most have not.

On any given day at any given time, Twitter is brimming with tweets about starting.

Starting a business
Starting a project
Starting a new chapter

Even Michael Jackson sang about wanna be startin’ something.

Expand that search out onto the Internet at large and the content around starting is staggering.

Tweets about finishing are almost entirely associated with sporting events, like the current NBA finals or the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Think about this: sports of all kinds are the ultimate starting addict’s playground because there’s always a new game, a new series, a new season that’s going to be starting soon somewhere.

At the time of this post, we are also entering the season of graduation when millions of people are recognizing the end of an era of their lives is imminent, accentuated with the popular hashtag:

#finishstrong

…along with gobs of advice about what it all means and how to keep going even when it may feel confusing, overwhelming, scary.

Turns out, I’m not alone. Turns out, finishing (strong or otherwise) — for a lot of people — is a big problem.

Perhaps it’s because finishing implies an end to something — a metaphorical or literal death. Eww. No one likes that.

And since we humans have concocted all kinds of distractions to keep us from facing the ultimate fate of all life…

…more of us than not consequently fall in love with and become addicted to starting, tricking ourselves into believing what’s next will be incredible and therefore, we can somehow postpone the inevitable.

Startup Culture to Blame?

The culture that’s building up around entrepreneurs is fanning the flames of desire for starting something.

Starting is sexy. There’s the high of the new, the hope that this time is going to be THE TIME for our business, project, or venture and work out Hollywood (or Instagram) style.

But once the initial rush dies down and is replaced by the routine of the everyday…dirty dishes and laundry and not another moldy container shoved to the back of the refrigerator! (You mean my true love is grumpy in the morning? You mean my SaaS code has holes?)

We are faced with a big decision.

Do we see this thing through?

Keep going even if we’re no longer tickled, delighted, in love?

Or do we abandon ship and swim to fresh waters where — you guessed it — we can start something new and feel that rush of anticipation of ATP (All Things Possible)?

Starting is easy. Starting is fun.

Finishing is hard. Finishing is boring. Especially when we see we’re down too many points to win the game. Faced with that reality, finishing becomes a torture we just want to hurry up and get through so we can move on with things.

Brewing a New Elixir

The paradox, of course, is this.  Only in the finishing are we able to experience more joy, satisfaction, pride, and reward than we can otherwise imagine.

Just ask any couple who’s stayed together for the long term, even when times got tough.

Or a product developer who saw her idea through, despite the hiccups that threatened to derail her efforts along the way.

Or the author who finally wrapped up his novel and sent it out into the world for readers to enjoy.

Nine times out of ten, people who cross the finish line say (and have you noticed, always emphatically?):

It pays to hang in, hard as it was at times.

Repeated enough and finishing, as a natural result of starting, becomes the new elixir, an experience we seek out rather than shun. Of course, the universal laws of nature will see to it the world has both whether we like it or not.

The question then becomes, what is your relationship to starting and finishing? Have you found the sweet spot, or are you addicted to one or the other? Share your comments below!