From Finishing to Halftime

When I started my blog, I called it "Finish Well" because I realized that I'm a great starter and a sucky finisher. I had a gillion unfinished projects and books, and I thought that talking about them publicly might shame me into completing a few.

What I didn't even really consider is why I felt compelled to do this. Was it really just a pile of unfinished books and a cross-stitch Christmas stocking that's been eight years in the making? Or was there something more?

Then I realized it. I'm going through my midlife crisis.

I didn't recognize it, because it didn't look anything like what I thought a midlife crisis should look like.

I didn't buy a little red Corvette. (Though I'll take one if anyone's offering).

I didn't have an affair. (I'm sure Herb is glad to hear that one.)

I didn't have a nervous breakdown. (I have a little, tiny one every day, so no need to go overboard.)

My kids weren't all grown and out of the house. (That's about 12 more years away.)

But apparently the phenomenon isn't all that unusual. After all, Time magazine did a cover article about it in 2005.  (Click here to read it.)





What did happen is I had a stroke. That'll really make you start thinking about priorities and bucket lists.

Then my youngest child started school.

I turned 40.

And my firstborn started high school and my stepson started looking at colleges.

I realized I had some goals in life that I wasn't really making any progress on. In order to make room for them, I had to do a little cleaning house.

Enter my Finish Year. I'm trying to finish — or at least make some progress on — some of those big elephants in my living room. I realized that mentally they are keeping me from moving forward. I needed to finish up one phase before starting on the next.

"How can I think about X when I haven't finished Y?"

So while I'll continue to use this blog to chart my progress through my Finish Year, I'm also going to be talking a lot about Halftime. If you aren't familiar with the term, read Bob Buford's book Halftime and the organization built around the concept.

I'm transitioning from one phase of my life to the next, even without the Corvettes or weekend flings. I'm working through that looks like, and it's prompting a lot of questions about values and goals and trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Career change? Maybe. Priority change? Definitely. Attitude change? Necessary.

Feel free to keep checking in and journey along with me. Maybe you're in your own Halftime, and you don't even know it.

Finish Well.