Finishing What I Sta...

I get distracted easily. And I get bored quickly. Usually, if I want to work on a project that will take more than thirty minutes, I will plan breaks into the task. If I don't, it feels like torture to work through to the end. (I just don't understand you task-driven people who like to do the whole thing at once, even if it takes all afternoon!) Sometimes, that strategy works great; I think it's better to work with your inherent personality rather than against it when you can.

But when a project gets really long-term, I tend to burn out and lose interest. Crafts and scrapbooking are really hard for me; my teaching portfolio is a lot of papers in a binder that aren't organized (I've taught so many types of classes that I just grab some as needed for the particular job for which I am applying); I have lots of half-novels, half-stories, or even stories that were written but never revised to the point that they would be publishable. Sometimes it's the fact that something becomes mundane; other times, it's the fact that it becomes difficult.

I've come to realize over the last few months that while I am great at completing externally-enforced tasks, I tend to quit things that have to be intrinsically-motivated, especially if there's any type of opposition. Oh well, I think to myself, maybe that just wasn't meant to be, maybe it's a sign I'm not really supposed to get involved, or the story wasn't any good in the first place, or these people know better than me so if they think it's a bad idea, I shouldn't pursue it any further.

But lately, God has really been convicting me that I should finish what I start. Difficulties are an inherent part of life, and most things worth doing take some kind of struggle. For the first time in my life, I've been thinking that maybe, in addition to me learning from those who disagree, perhaps they also have something to learn from me, and I should pursue my goal and voice my dissent.

So I will keep revising my novel, and I will start writing posts about why I care so much about clean water, and I will stick with the ministries with which I'm involved at church, and I will continue reading through the Bible even though I'm in the major prophets and I've always quit there before. I'm not saying there aren't times to let go of an idea. I just tend to swing the opposite way, so, persistence, here I come.