Following-Through by Suzanne Scheideker Cook
“In golf, as in life, it is the follow-through that makes the difference.” - Anonymous
Being active in different sports has been part of my life as long as I can remember. My mom and dad were avid tennis players and taught us how to play tennis when we were barely old enough to hold a kid-sized racquet. The love of this game has continued to this day. As I got older, bowling and golfing have also become a couple of my favorite past-times.
You might think that tennis, bowling, and golf have nothing in common except for a ball which varies in size. There is an important similarity in all three sports though. It’s the follow-through. In sports, a follow-through is defined as continuing one’s movement after the ball has been struck or thrown. In life, following-through means to continue an action or a task to its conclusion. Why is follow-through important in sports and in life? Because follow-through gives you momentum.
Here are some suggestions to help you follow through:
When you say you’ll do something, you need to follow-through and do it. So, if you volunteered for the company’s picnic set-up committee by showing up at 5:00 a.m. to help and you’re not an early morning riser, then think twice about committing. With that being said, doing something that is out of your comfort zone can be a good thing. In this instance, you will get to see the sunrise, meet new people, and help boost your company’s morale.
It happens to all of us. Our enthusiasm wanes before the task we promised to do is complete. So, the big question to ask yourself is, “Is this your passion?” If not, then why are you doing it? If you are passionate about it, even the tedious parts will be easier to start and finish.
Keep track of what you say you’ll do. Have a calendar handy as well as a schedule. Look at your calendar and your schedule before you say “yes” and keep in mind everyone needs downtime. Do you have enough of it scheduled?
Are you being realistic with how long it’s going to take, how much effort you will have to put in, and the satisfaction you will derive from doing it? Now, add 30 minutes to each thing on your calendar to allow for complications. What does your schedule look like now?
If your calendar is full and/or you are not following through on your commitments, pare down. (This is a lot easier to say than to do.) If you’re stepping back from being involved in an organization or an activity that involves others, don’t leave them in the lurch. Remember the Golden Rule and help fill the gap.
Give yourself deadlines.
Using these steps in your personal and professional lives will help you build and maintain follow-through and momentum. When we fall short on our commitments, it’s easy to feel guilty and beat ourselves up. We waste a lot of time and energy doing this. Your personal challenge is to track how successful you are in following through on your commitments and when you fall short, don’t beat yourself up. Use that energy to keep moving forward!
