My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished two b... — Dave Barry

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.

Author: Dave Barry

Insight: There's a real tension buried in this joke that most of us live with constantly. We know intellectually that completing things matters—that finishing projects, conversations, or commitments creates a genuine sense of accomplishment. But we also know, painfully well, how easy it is to confuse finishing anything with finishing something meaningful. A bag of M&Ms technically counts as completion, yet leaves us feeling oddly empty. The funny part is how honestly it captures what we actually do when we're stressed or stuck. We're not lazy so much as we're completion-hungry—we need that hit of "done." So we scroll to the bottom of the feed, finish the snack, watch one more episode. We're not avoiding real challenges; we're satisfying the legitimate human need for closure in whatever ways are immediately available. The problem isn't that we lack discipline; it's that we let easy wins convince us we've addressed what actually matters. Real peace probably does come from finishing things. But the harder truth is that you have to choose what deserves to be finished. That's where the work actually lives—not in white-knuckling your way through tasks, but in being honest about which completions will actually settle something in you versus which ones are just well-dressed procrastination.