You don’t have to finish everything you start

I saw a post by Daniel Pink yesterday. A bestselling American author, speaker, and former White House speechwriter. It was about books.

One line stayed with me.

“Become a quitter.”

As in. You don’t have to finish every book you start.

That landed for me. Because I see the opposite play out at home.

My oldest daughter has a very clear rule with books.
If she starts one, she finishes it. Period.

No drama. No forcing.
She just has the energy for it.

I don’t fight that. Because it’s natural for her.

But here’s what I’ve learned over the years.

Not everyone is built that way.

Some people are here to start things.
They bring momentum, curiosity, ignition.

Others are here to finish things.
They bring consistency, closure, completion.

And some rare people carry both.

In Human Design this is described through what’s called the Channel of Maturation. In simple language. It explains why some people naturally mature ideas over time and feel correct finishing what they start, while others are here to hand things off once the spark is lit.

Problems start when we copy rules that don’t belong to us.

“I must finish every book.”
“I must complete every project.”
“I must see everything through.”

That works beautifully.
For the people who are wired for it.

For everyone else, it creates guilt, self-doubt, and a pile of half-dead projects that were never meant to be finished by them.

I see this habit all the time.

People forcing themselves to finish books they outgrew.
Projects that already gave them what they needed.
Ideas that were meant to be started. Not completed.

Finishing is not a moral virtue.
Starting is not a flaw.

The real skill is knowing which role is yours.