I ran a 5km colour run on Sunday. Being spattered with a rainbow of paint was lots of fun. I even beat my personal best time by 4 minutes. I’m very proud of that achievement.
I had asked my husband to be there when I crossed the finish line, because the last (and first) time I did a 5k, I was on my own and it was really quite a let-down, riding home on the bus without anyone to celebrate my accomplishment with. The trouble was, I told him I would complete it in 35-40 minutes so he came to watch after I’d already finished! So it was still rather a let-down.
Have you ever experienced that, when you have worked hard for something, overcome obstacles along the way, and finally got to your finish line, only to find yourself a bit deflated? It could be leaving a job, or leaving a company, or moving house or any number of other changes – you work hard to finish everything off, to hand everything over to other people, tying up the loose ends. But it still doesn’t feel quite done.
Just like in my race, it’s really important to mark the ending well. To celebrate your achievement. You can only make a great beginning, in a new job for example, if you have let go of the old. I couldn’t go straight into training for a 10k, without giving myself credit for the 5k and thinking about how I achieved it and I what I might do differently next time. In the same way, you let go of the old job to free yourself up for the new, by reflecting on what you learned, what you’ll be leaving behind, what you are taking with you; saying your good-byes, to people and to places; and celebrating this event.
So next time I run a race, I will think carefully who I take with me to mark the ending! And I’ll do the same with any ending or finish line in my life. What ending do you need to celebrate or mark right now?
