Episode 149: Whatever it takes to finish things, finish. You will learn more from a glorious failure than you ever will from something you never finished.

Mindset Mondays with DTK – Ep #149 — I’d Rather Fail Than Not Finish!

As a long-distance road cyclist, I have noticed that as soon as the finish line becomes visible, I have this compulsion to accelerate. And, no, these are rides, not races. And the data reveal that that I am not alone: most people speed up as they approach the finish line. In fact, I also speed up as I approach the top of a hill. (And I even do it on my Peloton!)

It’s not the finish of a 100-mile ride that’s hard, it’s miles 80-82. That seems to be the time that I start to flag, I contemplate bailing, when I feel the threat of failure. With any of the organized rides, bailing before the finish lines gains me nothing.

“Whatever it takes to finish things, finish. You will learn more from a glorious failure than you ever will from something you never finished.”
— Neil Gaiman

Even if I fall short of a personal record (not my ideal), even if I get left behind by my riding buddies (making it harder), even if limp across the finish line (feeling like a failure) … I come away having learned something. I have data I can use for the next ride, for my training, for my nutrition. I know something I didn’t before. And I learn more by completing the ride, regardless of inglorious the finish, than I do by bailing out before it’s done.

Here’s what I do know: the more I trust in my abilities — to learn from my failures, to fix what needs to be fixed, to heal what needs to be healed, to recover and move forward — I am more willing to push through to the finish line.

And that is even more true off the bike, as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t LIKE failing. But I love the learning, the growth, and the acceleration that I am able to create as a result.

What is longing for you to finish?

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