The Importance of Finishing Strong

Whether it is in a race or in life it is important to finish strong. We see how examples like terry fox, a man who ran cross country with a prosthetic leg to raise money for cancer research. Another example is Jacob from the Bible, and his story of when he betrayed his brother, but after many years returned to his brother to apologize for what he had done. A final example is how you have certain relationships with people that start off terrible, but over time things get better and it ends well. All these examples point to that fact that finishing strong can be a difficult part of our lives.

One part of finishing strong is doing it on your own. An important thing you need to finish strong on your own is determination. Without determination you will simply lose the strength to continue on, and abandon your goals. You will notice the type of people that seem like they can go all the way at first, but when they arrive at the difficult part of the situation, they seem to lose all their strength and give up; these people lack determination. Another important thing you need to have is the proper physical capabilities. No matter how much determination or dedication someone has, if they cannot physically perform the task, they will not be able to do it. Being physically prepared to encounter hard situations is incredibly important; our physical bodies are what let us interact with the world, to put our ideas and ambitions into actions, which ultimately aid us in finishing strong. A final important thing you need is the proper mental capabilities. Mental capabilities affect many events in life. An example is if you were going for your driver’s test to get your license, if you are not prepared mentally for the exam, you will fail and not receive your license. Another example is if you were taking a class on cooking, but had forgotten your recipes, in this case you would also fail. Without being mentally prepared for challenges, you will lack the knowledge needed in order to complete the presented tasks.


A second part of finishing strong is with the help of another. One of the tasks of getting help from another to finish strong is the sacrifice of your pride. For example, if a man was running a race but could not go any further on his own, and his friend offered to help him finish, that young man would have to sacrifice some of his pride in order to finish strong. Pride is often hard to let go of since it is so deeply rooted in our conscious minds, but it can be a burden when attempting to finish strong. Another one of the tasks is actually having someone who’s willing to help you complete the task. This is more of a preparation task, if you refuse to have interpersonal relationships with people, there will be no one there to help you finish when you need it most. Whether the situations is a lack in physical capabilities or mental capabilities, even with the help of another, as long as you gave it your all it is still considered to be finishing strong. The final and maybe most important task is gratitude. When getting help from someone after being incapable of finishing on your own, gratitude is extremely crucial. For instance, if you are studying for a test but cannot seem to remember one question and no matter what you do you keep forgetting. Then comes along your friend and teaches you a method on how to study efficiently and you ace the test. Without gratitude towards the one that helped you it shouldn’t be considered finishing strong at all, because it would be a selfish act and to most people would not be considered honorable.


The final part of finishing strong is helping someone else finish strong. One of the things to recognize is when to help. This can sometimes be difficult because it’s not always clear if the right thing to do is to help, especially when you don’t know the entire situation. Normally if you have some form of the relationship with that friend, you’ll know when they have reached their limits and need help. Another one of the things to recognize is when not to help. Knowing when not to help is equally as important as knowing when to help. For example, if your friend was attempting to run a race and hurt their leg but could still limp, if you helped him in that situation you might crush his hope and make him feel weak. Another example is if you had a sibling who had an important test coming up, if they spent most of their lives letting others do the work for them, then helping them complete the task will only feed their laziness, and lack of determination.

Finishing strong is an important factor of life no matter which of these methods that were discussed. Many will agree that it is not who you were before you died, but what you accomplished before you died. It does not have anything to do with getting lucky; it has to do with determination, dedication, and completing your goal by giving your best effort in every way. There will always be those who finish strong and those who give up along the way, but no matter which path a person chooses, the rest of the world will always feel the effect of both groups.