Pull That Ripcord

I’ve given up on 3 books, 9 tv shows and 4 movies in the last year and I’ve never been happier about a decision not to finish things in my life.

This would have saved me years of blah.

You ever make yourself do something you don’t want to do?

I’m not talking about cookouts with neighbors you only kind of like or fixing the sink. I mean something you were looking forward to that sucked and you decided that you were gonna finish it because you finish what you start?

I’m telling you to abandon it.

Stop that shit right now. You aren’t doing anyone any favors by slogging through it, least of all you.

‘But this was written by Stephen King, man! I have to finish it!’ – No, you don’t.

‘They say this is the best show ever!’ – I don’t care.

‘This was directed by Scorsese!’ – I can still stop watching after 45 mins.

It's like a superpower.

I don’t have a hard/fast rule about this but if I have to convince myself that I need to finish something, it’s not something I need right now. Entertainment and unwinding are for relaxation and mental play. It shouldn’t take a lot of effort to play. It’s your default state.

If I ever feel like I’m having to try to like a thing I’m supposed to just be able to enjoy I’ll shelf it and come back to it later wherein I’ll either want to finish it or I won’t and either way I have no remorse for wasted time.

I’m all about finishing what you start but the beauty of something you don’t

like is that you can usually feel it after a relatively short period of time. No need to get neck-deep in it more than once.