The Key To Finishing Well
"The answer seems obvious, Holmes. Without starting well, one can't hope to finish well, can he?"
"I see your point, Watson. But what about the story of the tortoise and the hare? Surely you're not suggesting that jumping quickly into the race and then fizzling out makes sense."
"No, no, no! Here's the idea. It seems to me that if one doesn't make an effective start--not necessarily the fastest start--he can't possible make a respectable showing at the finish line. A good start leads to a good finish."
"Excellent, Watson, excellent! But let me twist the issue a bit differently. Explain Judas Iscariot, who started well as one of Jesus' twelve disciples but finished in disgrace?"
"Judas entangled himself with distractions, Holmes. The love of money for one. And those things weighted him down so that he couldn't run. A poor finish was inevitable. And need I mention children who start well but choose bad friends, abandon their parents' teaching and fall by the wayside later? Bad choices spoil good starts."
"So let me summarize your thinking, Watson, if I might lean on our sporting metaphor a bit harder. Starting well is necessary to finishing well--but not enough in itself. One who starts the race must also cast aside anything that weights him down if he's going to put in a good finish. Do I have it right?"
"Yes, I believe you're close. But I know you too well, Holmes. You appear to agree with me but really want to make a contrary point. Out with it!"
"Splendid, Watson! But let me put my slight objection to your theory in the form of a more pointed question. Once having started a race poorly, is it really possible to finish well?"
"I don't quite see how, Holmes. After all, if a man stumbles badly at the outset and wastes precious time getting back on his feet, how can he possibly finish well? Answer that!"
"A precise example, Watson, dispels conjecture. So let me give you one. Consider Saul of Tarsus, a murderous man at the outset of his race. But after his experience on the road to Damascus, he became Paul the Apostle, a revered man who certainly finished well even after an exceedingly poor start."
"Come now, Holmes! That's a case where one man started the race but another finished it. I admit there was only one body involved, but the Saul who started poorly was not certainly the Paul who finished well."
"Exactly! You've made my point for me! If a man starts poorly, he can indeed finish well--if another man takes over for him. In other words, there must be a change in the man on the inside--a decision to finish well despite his failures--somewhere along the way. Elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary."
Starting well may grace deny; to finish well is grace applied.
Copyright 2003 James McAlister
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