Have you ever quit too soon? Let me tell you about someone who fixed that in their life.
At the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Shirzo Kanakuri entered a marathon for the Japanese team. After several miles in the race, he left the track due to exhaustion and quietly returned home to Japan, where he became a teacher.
In 1967, he returned to Sweden and was encouraged to finish the race he had started--so he did! Shirzo went back to the spot where he'd quit and finished the remainder of the marathon, even though he was the only one running this time out. He ended up with the unofficial honor of the longest marathon in history, at 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes from start to finish.
While Shirzo didn't win any medals for his efforts, you have to applaud him for going back and finishing it! I imagine that one event had been sticking in his mind for years, nagging away at that one undone thing.
Have you ever stopped to look around you at the unfinished things in your life? Are there dreams and hopes you left behind or projects you started and never finished? Did you know all of those things could still be holding you back?
When we see an unfinished project on a regular basis (like a room left unpainted, something halfway built or repaired, an instrument we have sitting in the living room that we never learned to play, etc.), we experience something called the Zeigarnik Effect. Essentially, it means we are subconsciously reminded consistently that we are not accomplishing that thing, which bleeds over into an overall sense of failure in life. Even though it may only be one small thing, it could be dragging you down more than you know.
Here are three quick things to help you stay motivated to finish the race:
1) Focus on how your life will be different when you finish the task. What will it be like to finally check that off the list? How will your life be better? What benefits will you get (even if it's just a sense of accomplishment like Shirzo got) from finishing this task? If nothing changes one way or another, it might be time to reevaluate the importance of the task and maybe eliminate it from your to-do list.
2) Figure out the next step to get it done. You don't have to have an entire plan mapped out at this point, but what one thing do you need to do to move toward getting that unfinished task off your list? Do you need help getting it done?
3) If you know you won't be able to finish (or even continue) the project within a short period of time, reevaluate it. Remember the Zeigarnik Effect? If you see something unfinished in your life regularly, it will rob you of momentum. Is it something you're serious about doing? If so, pack it away until you have time to do it. If not, give it away and let someone else have the opportunity.
We all grow and have seasons in our lives where different things are important. As we get older, ambitions and ideas can change, so what seemed important ten years ago is no longer important now. There's absolutely nothing wrong with reaching a point where you abandon a project or idea that once seemed important to you but no longer is.
By the same token, don't give up on something you don't have to. Just because it might be hard doesn't mean it's not worth doing. It took Shirzo almost 55 years to finish his race, but the smile on his face when he did must have been huge. That sense of personal accomplishment was unparalleled.
If it's important and matters to you, don't quit your race! It might take you longer to finish than you originally intended, but don't give up because accomplishing that one thing can propel you into other great opportunities! Put on your running shoes and get back out there!
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