The hardest part may be finishing

I have not updated my WeChat account for a while. I have not stopped trying to grow; I am working harder than before. What startled me was the realization that, for a long-term goal I might actually reach, the hardest part may be the small stretch at the end.

People say every beginning is hard, and for someone who cannot begin, that is true. If the goal is to finish, though, starting only gets me through the entrance. Passing into high school is necessary before taking the university entrance exam, but the three years afterward demand the real sustained effort. Each year, even each term, changes the work. By the final term, small mistakes can matter greatly.

If I divide a project into three stages, I would now rank them this way: the end is hardest and most decisive; the middle is where change has to take hold; the beginning is the threshold.

My current examples are losing fat and learning languages. Inspired by MUJI’s spare design, I began a “Sculpting Project” in early March to remove weight I felt I did not need. From March 7 to June 27 I lost thirty jin, fulfilling a public promise I had made at the end of last year, though about ten days later than planned. Friends tell me I look fine and can stop. I appreciate their encouragement, but I have not reached the goal I set. They compare me with the person I was three months ago; I am comparing my progress with that goal.

The closing stage brings invitations to eat, stress at work, and moments of overeating. In the last month, progress has been uneven, and each further jin feels hard won. The chart I kept makes that visible to me. I need to take care that the work already done does not make me careless now.

I see a similar unfinished last step elsewhere. I began a thousand-hour English practice plan in 2024, but did too little real-life use at the end. I studied Python between 2022 and 2025 yet also left too little time for applying it. Both feel half-finished as a result.

Have you run into a final stretch like this? How did you handle it? I hope I can share what it feels like when I finish one of these efforts fully.