And not the kind of stopping that involves the potentially recalled breaks on my Toyota Prius…

Beginnings are some of my favorite things.  It’s really fun to start something new – a craft, a hobby, a volunteer position, a friendship, even a blog!  : )  But it doesn’t seem to be quite as fun or as natural to stop.  When was the last time you actually stopped something?

My guess is it was a lot longer ago than the last time you began something.  Maybe it’s because stopping makes us feel like quitters, or because we are a generation of people-pleasers who perpetually say yes, or we think we function better under high anxiety and overbooked schedules.

I’ve gotten pulled over twice for not stopping at stop signs.  (Once I intentionally rolled through the stop sign so I didn’t have to wait for an approaching pedestrian to cross the street…oops… I wisely did not reveal this to the officer and ended up with a warning.)

In short, I think a beginning may only be as good as our ability to stop.

What would happen if you stopped something you think of as crucial to what you do?  Maybe it’s a small, one-time thing, maybe it’s a perpetual commitment or habit.  But really, think about the consequences.  Could it be worth it?  What would you learn? Would the world or your job or your organization or your relationship end?  Probably not.

My guess is that over the course of your life, you’ve begun more things than you’ve stopped.  So don’t stop something now just to start something new.

It’s time to do some pruning.