A Significant End

Introduction:

Welcome Champ!

Umm, I know you may be wondering where I've pulled out "champ" from, in place of our more intimate expressions of friend or buddy…

Well, it's because today we're celebrating your gallant match through the three quarters (¾) of the year into the last one, as the month draws to a close and October stares us right in the face.

Whether you've had to run, walk or stagger through the days, you've soldiered on like a true warrior and deserve all the flowers I've sent your way.

You see, while we've already used up most of it, there's still a significant amount of time left before the year ends; enough to make all the difference either positively or negatively as determined by our choices and actions.

So, what are you up to for the rest of the year, my friend?

Discussion:

The difference between the beginning and the end of a thing shows in how we feel about each one.

At the start there's an overlapping feeling of nervousness and excitement; the optimism of what could be.

There could also be the desire and motivation; the urge to prove ourselves.

The end on the other hand isn't so.

As things reach a conclusion the excited person gets bored, as that burning initial drive ultimately burns out.

It's for this reason that the end requires carefulness and intentionality for it to be one to remember for the right reasons.

■ Identifying The Issues In The End

Having agreed that the conclusion is usually a bit more tricky to handle, it's important to point out and address the three (3) mindsets that make it so.

As we arrive the end of a: month, season, job, year, we begin find ourselves leaning towards certain lines of thought all of which trigger us into poor decision making that end up costing us the satisfaction of a fulfilling end.

These emotions we may experience include:

▪︎ The Pressure For A Happy Ending

It's only normal to assess ourselves on the basis of how far we've come, what we've done or how much we've earned in comparison to how much time spent and amount of energy exerted.

Here, we're looking for reasons to be impressed, for good results and a positive scorecard.

Where this isn't in sight, we begin to feel the pressure of having an end that's below par.

While some know how to handle this and convert it into positive energy as in a wake up call, many of us are blown away by it into hasty poor decisions that could prove detrimental.

As the end draws near, we're always confronted with the responsibility of meeting the set target yet this shouldn't lead to extreme self criticism or self destruct.

▪︎ The Complacency From A Good Start

One of the saddest things to see is an individual who started off very brightly fall off; yet this is very common.

Many times we become victims of our own success because we allow it get to our heads such that we begin to feel invincible.

A mindset that hinders growth and improvement as we're unable to learn what we feel we already know.

The ending is a time when the top performers usually lose pace because they've mentally signed out, trusting their antecedents to see them through.

This can often backfire as things spiral downwards uncontrollably.

We should always have the humility and awareness to recognize that things can change very quickly against us when we lose focus or slack.

Reminding ourselves always that all is only well when they end well.

▪︎ Discouragement From A Poor Start 

For those of us that are used to winning or those who don't know what it means to recover from a setback, or rise from nothing through the ranks to compete with the best, having an underwhelming start can make us lose trust and interest in the process.

Here, we stop making efforts to improve because we're convinced that it's "a little too late."

This is the kind of mindset that makes a person sign out of the year in October, while feeling good about their plans of an elaborate "new year resolution" without realising that there's still twenty-five (25) percent of year to vie for a good ending and a headstart for our resolutions.

We should never give up on ourselves or feel like it's too late.

Let every ending meet us doing our best.

■ An Unprecedented End

When things don't turn out as planned it's not always because we haven't done our best or because we're unlucky; some things just take more time.

A maize can mature and be harvested in weeks but no amount of effort can make the same happen for a mango.

We should have a good knowledge of what we're doing and if we're on the right track we'd be first to know.

Having life's eventualities affect our ending is an opportunity to learn and respond with the right attitude, as we become better individuals for it.

This is only possible when we trust in God as he's the one who makes all things work out well for our good.

■ A Definite End

For us believers, we have the conviction that a day will come when our body will no longer be alive because our soul has moved on to the other side.

This makes true wisdom the ability to live our lives prioritising the things that blesses the soul rather than pleasures the body.

There's an end that means that all our well thought out plans and the subsequent executions can no longer be possible which is why now that we can, we should embrace the responsibility to be present in the live of others; especially loved ones and family who despite being close to us, don't share their lives with us because we're "too busy" or "dealing with our own issues"

None of us knows when they'll breathe their last so we must make each breath worthwhile so that if it's the final one it'll also be the best one.

Summary:

As we head into the final quarter of the year, I'm counting on you to make it a remarkable ending.

To stay on track or to get back on track accordingly and in accordance with our aim to have an outstanding round up of events before we take out this calendar for the updated one.

Master Apprentice.

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