How Good Are You on Following Through On Your Goals?

[sassafras]

I was looking over my goals the other day and I took note on the the amount of goals and intentions that I've abandoned over the years, so it got me thinking:

How Good Are You on the Follow Through?

Do you finish everything you start? What sort of projects do you routinely struggle with? What sort of projects do you routinely succeed at?

What makes you give up on a project? What makes you stick with a project until the bitter end?

For the projects you abandon, most of the time do you think it's because of a lack of will power or motivation or do you suspect it might be self-sabotage? What sorts of projects do you normally self-sabotage?


ADDED: How do you think MBTI theory fits into follow-through? What functions do you think are responsible? What types are good at follow-through and what types are more likely to struggle? Speculate!

 

[IndigoSensor]

If I tell someone I am going to do something, 99% of the time I WILL do it come hell of high water. I HAVE to follow through on anything that I do, it bothers me internally to no end (to the point of anxiety attacks) if I don't. I honestly can not really explain why, but it is so ingrained in my nature to finish something that I start, or feel obligated to do. It takes a great level of mental strain and or external effort in order to forgo something and not complete a task, project, thought, or anything of the sort. Of course because of this I am quite careful and conscious of anything I choose to begin. If it is something that I do not want to do, and possibly has a great deal of risk involved, and I start and not finish, serious mental consequences could result that could potentially last for years (it's happened before). Following through heavily is linked to success to me as well, so in many cases the two are associated and mutually exclusive.

I am very careful of the obligations I bind myself to, because I have to complete them. If I am not certain I can meet them, I will often bind myself with a lot of ambiguity. This way the project has tangents and let outs in a sense in case something were to happen. That way it still feels like it can go to completion.

Honestly, it is near impossible for me to give up and let go of a project of some kind. Usually what will happen is letting go is equated to admitting defeat in my mind, and I simply can not do that. Thus I give up on a project when I am forced to and or I tank because of it. I seldom self sabatouge, but I have in the past and it is often when I start a project I internally know I can't win or get to (most often do to lack of energy), and thus my subconscious will wreck it for me so I don't expend energy. Ironically enough, that takes a lot of stress energy in itself to do.

For me this definitely ties into my MBTI, largely because of my super J. My top four functions are Ni Fe Te and Si as far as capacity goes. You could put them together in any way you wish and it comes out to some sort of J type. I tend to ignore and shun extroverted perceving sides of myself as they directly violate codes I hold myself to, in particular with going to completion. However one important note about projects (and this shows that I am ruled by Ni, not Si), is I often set the start, the goal, and a few check points in between. I don't care (within reason) how I get to the goal so long as I get there. Further, if I try to over-plan the details of how to get to the goal I will falter and things will not work out as well as they should have. It also causes me a load of stress because I have a very very hard time deviating from set plans. I'm not kidding either. If someone shows up to a resturant when I am with a group of friends, after we ordered and they were not expected to be there, or they were late, I get very upset. I actually want to tell them to go away, and I have before. I am very locked up with plans, I really do not know "how" to let go of them unless I am forced to adapt. I am also 1w2 which ties a lot into all of this with everything needing to be "right".

In short, my over-powered J is why I am so locked onto following through once I set it in motion.

 

[Prometheus]

It depends on who it's for. I'm very, very bad at carrying through on things for myself in the long-run if they don't immediately appeal to my, er, eccentricities. For example, I powerhoused my way through college with recommendations from nearly every teacher I had, but I absolutely cannot stick with an exercise regiment because I don't care much about it. Fortunately, I don't need it just yet, but I'm sure my metabolism won't hold its own forever.

On the other hand, if it's something for someone else, my commitment becomes much like that described by Indigo. I will stop at nothing, NOTHING, to carry it out. A friend of mine learned this a while ago when she jokingly told me that the admission cost to her party was one yard of multicolored lint (I shit you not). Yes, I knew it was a joke, but I'll be damned if I wasn't going to follow through on my intent to surprise the hell out of her. I showed up with exactly one yard (carefully measured) and presented it at the door. Consequences were never the same.

I've been known to drive seven hours to pick up a friend from his parents' house and drive him back to home base just because I once told him if he ever needed a DD, he could call me up. I've been known to go through hell and back to find that one particular, unexpected gift that will make that split second after opening it remind the recipient of how they felt as a child on Christmas morning. Hell, I once went five days (during FINALS week) without sleep so I could be available at all hours to a friend whose father had died prior.

I absolutely cannot fail another person. My nature does not allow for it.

PS: When I want to accomplish something that I begin to drag my feet on, I convince myself it's for someone else and it gets done. I'm sneaky like that.

 

[laurie]

I'm pretty good at giving things a lot of attention until they're finished. I don't usually give up on anything unless it won't be as good as if I did it differently - like course work.
I don't know what my motivation for finishing things is, but I'd feel dreadful if I didn't.

It also helps if I enjoy it. I mean, I can slog my way through almost any task, but it won't necessarily be good. I have to really want it to be good (which is kind of lame).

I don't think I've given up on any project I've started, except when an entire story I wrote got deleted by my friend. I couldn't bear to re-write it all again.

It probably relates to having a strong J function... It feels kind of sad to see something sitting there, half done, when it might've been amazing. The possibilities for it are too great to just leave it alone

 

[invisible]

i've become able to be extremely focused on my goals and driven to follow through on things. although i have not got a lot done in my life so far, the more things that i have got done the more i have been able to get done and it has become at times nearly almost easy and fun to achieve another thing. i abandoned a lot of goals in my past too but it's as though that was a process of realising what my true goals were as they have become more certain and stable over time. i don't know about mbti but i read a description that said INFJs determine plans to improve the world which they then determinedly execute and i have felt since i read it that this description connects with something about me.

 

[Matariki]

How Good Are You on the Follow Through?

Do you finish everything you start?

No.
Well... sometimes.

What sort of projects do you routinely struggle with?

Mostly works of art, I tend to design pieces that are bigger than my skills and I underestimate the length of time that is will take to finish it.

What sort of projects do you routinely succeed at?

The same as above, despite how hard or how long it will take to complete it, I stick at it. I can get very obsessive over my projects to the point where I won't leave my room until its complete.

What makes you give up on a project?

Getting distracted by new ideas and project ideas. I have ideas coming out of my ears, I have a hard time keeping track of them.

What makes you stick with a project until the bitter end?

The knowledge that I will gain from completing it, and the feeling of achievement, its a great confidence builder.

For the projects you abandon, most of the time do you think it's because of a lack of will power or motivation or do you suspect it might be self-sabotage?

Usually its lack of motivation, coming up with ideas is easy, completing them is taxing and tedious.
I am also a perfectionist, If I find fault in my work I tend to scrap it. If I find something better, I will scrap my work and focus on improving my technique.

What sorts of projects do you normally self-sabotage?

All sorts, mostly art but I also tend to self sabotage on exercise and fitness, which comes back with a vengeance to bite me in the when I jump into the ring.
Injuries and depression is hard for me to overcome, its a constant day to day battle.

ADDED: How do you think MBTI theory fits into follow-through? What functions do you think are responsible? What types are good at follow-through and what types are more likely to struggle? Speculate!

Definitely my I and P. The ones that most likely to follow through are our 'J' types.
'P's will always tend to struggle with completing projects. 'P' types are generally natural multitaskers, and because of that they are probably more prone to distractions around them and taking on more than they can actually handle.

I know I can easily get lost in various different project ideas at once, it can be overwhelming for me if I don't sort out my thoughts properly. Being lost in my mind can make me depressed, so I have to careful on how much time I spend in my inner world of creativity.