How to Finish Well: Four Ways to Know If You Have Lost Heart

Grief has become a great mentor since my father died nine months ago. The lessons, stories, and reflections have allowed me to reflect in greater detail about what I want my life to look like.

I recently shared with my wife on the couch one night about how I envision life when I am a grandfather. I got emotional thinking about loving well and leaving a legacy. Several years ago I wrote my eulogy down in a journal and that has helped me shift my paradigm about the life I am living today.

However, I am curious about many people who appear to have lost heart, whether young or old.  Life can be challenging and this can create complexity for people who are unclear about the story they are living.

I was having a coaching conversation about an individual acquiring a family business. The current tension was on the transaction of the business and the monetary value. The family member selling the business had lost the long-term perspective of what it means to leave a good legacy and the individual considering acquiring the company needed clarity on what it means to desire to build a legacy.

What does it mean to finish well?

It means that you pursue what is in front of you with your whole heart.

King Hezekiah got news that he was going to die and it was time to put his house in order (II Kings 20:1). King Hezekiah lived wholeheartedly before the Lord and wept bitterly because he desired to finish the work in front of him.

There have been a few moments in my life when I did not finish a job, task, or project well. Often these endeavors in life happened to me because I did not want to do the task at the beginning.

When we approach life and leadership with half-hearted devotion the outcome often leads to resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness, not because of other people, but because of our lack of conviction.

Back to the question of what causes people to lose heart. To finish well a leader must identify common obstacles that will cause them to lose heart.

Four Signs When A Leader Has Lost Heart

Lost Vision: The fundamentals of having clarity about your destination will determine how you make decisions. Uncovering your unapologetic desires in life and anchoring those desires in core values will help you stay the course.

Grown Tired: Loving and serving well for days and decades requires a marathon heart and we live in a sprint culture. Cultivating a heart for steadfastness will require one to look beyond the fads and quick fixes and embrace playing a long game.

People Pleasing: Bending to the pleas of others will erode your core over time. Lacking boundaries about what you say no to and yes to will leave you saying yes to everyone and the downstream effect is that you said no to yourself on the journey.

Lack of Community: If you are not intentional about building ongoing relationships that have direct access to your heart then it will be difficult to make wise decisions when it matters most in life. You must have an inner circle of friends, mentors, and advisors that help you keep life between the rumble strips on the road.

Your life will come to an end. Your business will be sold. Your legacy will be in the stories that your family share. May this encourage you to consider where you might be losing heart and how to get back on track.