Skip to main content

Complete With Incomplete

I used to struggle with leaving anything undone. Finishing, for me, was imperative. Perhaps it's because of adages like these:
Stick to a task till it sticks to you, beginners are many and finishers are few.
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Such sayings surely played a part in my being unable to leave any task incomplete. Finishing, of course, isn't always a bad thing. In fact, every morning I'm grateful I cleaned the kitchen before going to bed so that I don't wake up to last night's dishes. Sometimes, I'll admit, it's terribly inconvenient to make everyone wait till I finish the dishes before we move on to our next adventure, but I'm getting better at being able to leave things unfinished, knowing full well that if it's important, I'll get it done soon enough--and if I don't get back around to it, finishing must have not been that imperative.

The problem with thinking everything has a finish, or is simply a task that must be completed is that we don't enjoy the process. Instead of finding pleasure in the present moments, we paint picture And it is possible to feel complete even when a project lies incomplete. In fact, learning to feel complete with incomplete, greatly increases the joy of everyday living. It will lessen the striving, your insane focus on arriving, and breathe serenity into your soul. Plus, what is really ever complete anyway? My kitchen is a credible example. No matter how often I complete the task of cleaning up the dishes, they get undone with every next eating. If my focus is always on finishing the dishes, I'm going to miss the pleasure of having my hands in hot, soapy, dishwater. The joy of wiping up the counters and seeing clean where before there was mess.

But deeper than dishes, there is something more to this idea of getting comfortable with incomplete. If you are anything like me, then your dreams and goals are ever changing, and ever expanding. Once you achieve one goal or dream another one is born. And so again, the journey begins. Personally, I'm NEVER going to be able to accomplish everything I want to in this life. I'm constantly discovering new hobbies, planning new adventures, and toying with new ideas. I've found, after 39 years of living, that the joy from my trips or certifications, didn't come from the completion. It came from the journey. The planning, working, the day to day moments of complete incompleteness.

So I guess what I'm saying is since I'm constantly evolving, exploring, learning, and growing, I'm not going to fall into the trap of thinking finishing is the reward or that completeness is completely possible. I'm never going to feel complete if finishing is my measurement. I'm going to feel complete by realizing that I'm completely incomplete and that's completely cool with me. In fact, knowing I can feel complete with incomplete makes me feel complete.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Treason

I don’t know if you’re like me or not, but I was born into the one and only “true” religion of God. I spent my entire life studying and living the principles and teachings of my faith. I knew the doctrine, and I believed it to be true. Until I didn’t. The road to the unraveling of my faith is a rather long one—definitely another article for another day--but suffice it to say, I began studying other religions and realized that all of them contained beautiful truths. I felt as uplifted and inspired while reading their scriptures as I did reading mine. I understood why some referred to religion as a “faith culture” for I was now aware that had I been born and raised in a different religion, I’d have believed that religious tradition to be true. I came to see religions as merely vehicles leading us back to God. Surely God didn’t care whether his children drove jalopies or Jaguars so long as they were moving along the superhighway back to Him. Or could it be her? Or perhaps there wasn’t ju...
2 comments
Read more

Relationships

I've been thinking a bit about relationships. I'm seeing them differently than I've ever seen them before. First, I realize that relationships are created in our minds. What we think about our relationships defines them. If I think my daughter is ungrateful, I will see ingratitude in all her actions. If I tell myself my coworker is annoying, I will find him extremely so.  And so it goes. What we think about others creates how we relate to them. So why not think happy, positive, loving thoughts about the people we relate with? We absolutely have the power to create amazing relationships by changing the way we think about our relations. Second, I've been thinking about the importance of loving the people in our life for who they are, not for what we need them to be. People need freedom to be who they want to be. If you love someone, you don't try to change them. That isn't love. Love is accepting someone for who they are and where they are right now. Love know...
Post a Comment
Read more

His Light Lives On

Page told me during breakfast this morning that President Thomas S. Monson passed away last night. The realization that a great soul had left this mortal life washed over me. I wanted to pay tribute to him today so I decided I would take his framed picture with me to work and set it aside a lighted candle. It would be my way to acknowledge the illuminating affect he has had in my life and the life of so many others, as well as signify that his light lives on. Here's how it looked:   I moved him throughout the day so that I could always see him. I also spent some time reading some of his most beloved quotes. I felt his presence and my love for his great soul increased. Some of the quotes I shared with others throughout the day include: Decisions determine destiny Your future is as bright as your faith   Search inward. Reach outward. Look heavenward Never postpone a prompting We can't direct the wind but we can adjust the sails It's always b...
Post a Comment
Read more