How did you get all those loose ends – those unfinished tasks that are dangling in the wind? Why did you take on so many projects all at once? Why didn’t you say no? Most of us have kicked ourselves in trying to answer those questions.
That’s because we don’t have good responses. Or perhaps we don’t want to reveal the real reasons. Who wants to confess the following: I didn’t feel important enough. I wasn’t appreciated. I wanted to prove that I was still capable of juggling several tasks. I didn’t want to disappoint the person who needed my help. I wanted to be just as involved and productive as the others.
Some people thrive on volunteering for everything. In many cases, they are the ones who leave unfinished jobs for others to clean up. Some dear folks still take the credit for a job well done even when the job was only half done. Dad, talk to your teenager about the negative impact of being a starter and never a finisher. It’s a lousy label to wear and extremely difficult to remove.
Slackers
Things go wrong, projects fall through and plans crumble because someone assumes that others will pick up the slack. Often the slacker escapes blame while the picker-uppers take the heat for dragging their feet. It’s a real downer when you’re called out for not completing a job that was never yours in the first place.