Nothing is ever really finished. Instead, everything is in process. This is why we can purchase “new and improved” products for our homes, a new “version” of a car, or updates for our phones. We want to believe we have a finished product, but really, everything is in process.
I find the temptation a finished product alluring. I don’t want anybody else to see what I’m working on until it is finally finished. That rarely happens.
The fallacy of finished means I have half finished projects; books, ideas, articles. Items that I have started, yet, unfinished, so they never saw the light of day.
Somewhere I read that one of the challenges of writing is being willing to get something down on paper no matter how bad it is. Once it is down on paper, you can revise it. That’s great for getting started, but what about finishing something?
Perhaps the best way forward is simply to show your project to someone. Let someone read your book, your article, or hear your idea. Is it finished? Probably not. There are edits that will need to be completed and thoughts to be incorporated. Perhaps a story line here or there will need to be changed or refined. It’s okay.
When I tell people we are “building the plane as we are flying it” I usually get an odd glance. That phrase describes how I feel. The project isn’t done, but we are moving forward with it. We are flying it as we are building it. Isn’t building the plane while you are flying it a bit dangerous? Yes. If it is an actual plane. If it is something else, like a discipleship program, bible study, book. etc. it is much less dangerous.
However, if we wait until we feel our project is really finished, it might never see the light of day. That is tragic. Perhaps God is leading you, but you need the input of others. What you create together will benefit. Remember, if most things are never really finished, waiting until it is finished means you will never move forward.
