I have a folder titled Unfinished Blog Posts. It contains posts that were started, but not finished. Twenty-seven documents that got my time and energy. Twenty-seven pieces of writing that will probably never be posted.
At first, this folder drove me crazy. It was proof of wasted time. It was evidence that on twenty-seven occasions, I sat down to write a post and was not successful. My expectation for each incomplete post was that I would brainstorm, form an outline, write and then post. Yet, the unfinished blog posts never made it to posting. So, initially, I viewed this as unsuccessful. But, were they?
The short answer, NO. These posts were building blocks. They may not have experienced the success I expected, but these posts were nonetheless part of my journey. Looking back, these unfinished posts were not wasted time at all. I learned what didn’t work, came up with better ideas, or moved on when I was stuck.
So, why did I view them as unsuccessful? Because I couldn’t see a direct correlation between writing the unfinished posts and accomplishing my goal of posting weekly for 2017. But, in retrospect, each unfinished post led to a finished post (and probably a better one).
We each have “unfinished blog posts.” Things in which we fail to see the initial significance. Things that we try to avoid. But, these things ultimately lead to our success. In 2018, let’s stop worrying about the outcome and let’s remember each unfinished post paves a path to a finished one.