If you want to finish, you've got to do all that you can to get rid of your perfectionism right out of the gate. You've got to have fun, cut your goal in half, choose what things you'll bomb, and a few other actions you won't see coming at first. ---Jon Acuff
The above quote is an excerpt from the introduction of Jon Acuff's 2017 book Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done. Acuff, a motivational blogger and speaker, has built up a big following on social media and authored six books. In the same introduction he referred back to his 2013 book Start, which had as its premise the importance of overcoming beginner's fear. Later data he received, though, showed that many of his readers had no problem starting goals, but rather quickly dropped off from them when they fell prey to the fallacious need to be perfect...and no one's perfect when they start out on something new. So Acuff decided to pen this book to help people stick with their endeavors and avoid the pitfall of perfection while providing some helpful hints. Yes, fun is an essential element to a goal's fulfillment while sometimes the original regimen may prove too taxing: so cut the goal in half or extend the time you set to fulfill it. Also, while focusing on a goal it will be necessary to find other areas of your life that you'll be willing to let slide...at least for a while...while not being ashamed of doing so. This is why I chose the above quote since it pretty much capsulizes this book. I greatly enjoyed reading Finish with Acuff presenting everything in a personally compelling way, and it's really true that for me I've started many goals only to abandon them when my sense of perfectionism placed unnecessary obstacles to their fulfillment. As for that earlier book Start (full title Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters), I plan to read it soon...but I recommend that you finish Finish before you start Start, however counterintuitive that may seem...
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