Crossing The Finish Line (It’s There For A Reason)

Just a quick question. Why would anyone spend the time going through the following process? Decide it’s important to recycle. Spend time and effort separating recyclables from non-recyclables during the week. Throw what’s been determined to be trash into the garbage. Save what’s been determined to be recyclable in a recycle bin. Load the recycle bin into a vehicle once a week. Take a trip to the recycle drop-off point.

All only to toss the recyclable items at the drop-off point into the complete wrong bins. I see it all the time. Plastics in the newspaper dumpster. Aluminum cans in with the magazines. Cardboard in with the glass. Really?? Why even bother with steps 1-6?

Here’s my worry. This doesn’t have anything to do with our attention and concern with recycling. Instead, I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s symptomatic of our focus on seeing something all the way through to the end. As my dad used to say when I was a kid, “Next time you need a ride to football practice, do you want a ride 98% of the way there, or do you want a ride all the way there.”

Too many folks feel like champions for doing a great job 98% of the way through the task. Clearly, the ones that sprint all the way through the tape at the finish line are the ones that will consistently come out on top. There’s a big difference between feeling like a champion, and actually being one.

Don’t just finish (although what would be better than what we see so often), but finish strong.

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