Beyond the obvious point of having a finished work in your hands, there is so much value in seeing through a project to the completion.
Some decisions and creative choices you make only towards the end. This requires skills you would not develop if you simply started another project. There are ways to view the project that tie the end to the start. There are threads you tie back to the core. There’s the insight into your own process and ideas into the way you will do things differently next time.
There’s also the grit to see a project through that you develop only from finishing what you’ve started.
Similar to how trees need the resistance of the wind to develop their strength, completing a project gives you the strength to grow. The strength to stand.
In his book Hidden Potential, Adam Grant describes an experiment in a high school art class. A part of the class was told their grade would be based on one piece of work. The other part was told they would be graded on how many pieces they made.
The part of the class that put quantity first developed skills quicker and to a higher level. It was seeing through a piece, putting it to the side, and starting another with the new knowledge that - in part – put these students ahead of others.
There are reasons to abandon a project, or to put it to the side and start something else. But there’s also so much to be gained from finishing the work even if you decide it won’t see the light of day.
Seeing through a project is an investment in yourself, in your skills, and in your future work.