Why Commitment Is So Important

Commitment means you will not give up when things get tough. It means being determined regardless of any obstacles standing in the way. It means not letting habits that are not helpful to what you are trying to accomplish stand in the way. And finally, but certainly not least, it means that when that immediate sense of motivation we all get when starting a goal wanes, that we keep going.

If you learn nothing from this podcast episode, get that a desire to achieve something differs from being committed to achieving something.

Transcript

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Why Commitment Is So Important?

This episode of evolving life is the third in the series on factors preventing us from achieving what we want from life. In this episode, we are going to talk about how commitment or lack of it can keep you from achieving the success you want.

Before getting to how a lack of commitment is a roadblock for most of us, let’s do a quick recap on the series. Episode 2 of evolving life was the first in the series. I talked about self-doubt and how having it contributes to not accomplishing much because we don’t believe we can. In episode 3, the second part of the series, I talked about fear and how it’s normal to experience it, as long as it doesn’t define our life.

If you haven’t listened to episode 2 and 3, when you have an extra 45 or so minutes, listen to them. Because those two factors and the one we are about to talk about contribute to the reasons, the success you want may seem unachievable.

I’m here to say that if we pay attention to factors mention in this series such as your doubts, your fears, and your willingness to commit to what you are trying to accomplish, then what you want isn’t just possible, it’s achievable.

In fact, it’s right there waiting for you to reach for it. Will it require effort? Yes, a lot.

It also requires looking internally at how you block your efforts.

Here is something else to consider. Commitment is like a muscle. You build it, strengthen it, and use it to get what you want.

I’m going to share twelve ways to build that commitment muscle. Before sharing them, though, I want to put a few questions out there.

Have you ever started something and then suddenly lose interest?

You wake up one day and say to yourself; I want to do something else, or this is taking up way too much of my time. 

What about this one?

Is this really worth it?

Is this idea of mine too involved, too expensive, or time-consuming, too saturated by other people doing the same thing?

Should I have done this years ago?

Someone else did and they are killing it.

Is this other idea I have a better one?

It would be less involved, requires less time, and I may make more money with that idea.

What’s the one word that comes to mind as I asked those questions?

Excuses. 

We can find a million of them if we wanted to. It’s what most of us do when the things we want to accomplish weren’t as easy as we thought, harder, more involved.

We have this tendency to fall back on our default. Which if we were to be really honest with ourselves, it’s finding the right excuse to convince ourselves to stop. Even though you are very familiar with the concept that nothing worth having is easy .

The reality is we set goals, but abandon them before we can say one of the longest words in the English language. Have you ever tried to pronounce or spell one of them?

It messes with your mind! Especially if you see the longest word in the world and its 189,819 letters, and I love words!

I will not try to say one of them right now. Instead I’m going to pull you into my madness. I’m already trying not to be tongue tied and ramble on this podcast. Instead, I’m going to put all of them in the show notes so that you can see what I mean when I say, yikes.!

By the time you try to pronounce them, or articulate them, then spell them - well, yikes become an understatement.

These ginormous words are a great representation of the average life span of a goal set, then abandon.

Seriously though, a study by Scranton University shows that 92 percent of people who set goals fail. This study brings me right back to the purpose of this series. Exploring the reasons so many people can’t seem to turn their intentions into reality.

Why does almost every person who set goals, small ones, big ones, fail?

And just as relevant following through on something they started and seeing if the intention had a viable chance at success.

We already explored two if those reasons. Today, I am sharing a third reason. By the time I’ve completed this series, you will know six reasons that contribute to the why?

By the way, I just decided this moment that the series will be six episodes. I’ve been thinking of how long the series should be because while I know there are so many factors that prevent us from achieving the success we want. I also don’t want to drag out the series.

After the sixth episode, if there is a topic related to this series, you want me to highlight in an upcoming episode. Contact me. You can reach out to me at fullrliving.com/community. Or you can email me at pocast@fullrliving.com. Perhaps you will want to do the episode with me.

Let’s explore and evolve together.

Anyway, back to commitment.

I have a story I want to share

Going back to my last two years of high school. Back then, taking an art 101 was a part of a set of classes I needed to take to graduate. Also back then, the student we told sophomore year was the year colleges focus on. By junior, senior years most of the classes were considered electives, so if there was a class I didn’t want to take, I would avoid it, until I couldn’t and this intro to art was a class I avoided, until I couldn’t any more.

I had to take the class if I wanted to graduate. I dreaded it because I had a terrible experience in a drama class in a previous school that, let’s say, impacted me.

I can only say that I was shy and anything having to do with acting, singing, you can’t be shy. Art fell into that same category for me because it also requires talent. Something I certainly didn’t think I had.

Don’t bother wondering why I tried out for a drama class. I lost my mind in my first high school, or should I say I wanted to be popular and I thought this was a way to do it. Boy, was I wrong.

Anyway, I had to take this art class. When the time came, I entered the classroom with an attitude of what’s the point, I can’t draw anyway mentality. I think after a few classes, the art teacher must have sensed my attitude. She approached me and asked what I wanted to accomplish in the class and I think I said something to the effect of I didn’t know how to draw, so I didn’t understand why I had to take the class.

Honestly, I don’t remember which of my negative outbursts lead to Mrs. Sticks (can’t believe I remember her name) telling me it didn’t matter that I didn’t know how to draw. What mattered was my unwillingness to even try. She aptly pointed out that if I didn’t try, I would never know what I was truly capable of.

This experience resonated with me as an example of not giving up more so than having the right attitude because you know what? Back then, I was a creative.

Sure, drama wasn’t my thing. I also wasn’t a gifted artist able to create beautiful portraits with a pencil. But I remember loving art and fashion. I may have had an attitude in that class because of my self-doubts, but this teacher saw beyond my doubts and instilled in me the reasons I needed to be committed to what I was doing regardless of the doubts and, yeah, fear. Fear that I was going to repeat the drama class incident from my previous school. Being a teenager, I’m sure I was afraid of being laughed at.

That one conversation with my art teacher not only allowed me to walk away from the class with a decent painting that I was proud of, but a great lesson in committing to what I am doing, despite internal and external roadblocks.

If we want to achieve anything, big or small, commitment is one of the key ingredients you need to make it happen. Whether you are walking into a classroom, starting a business, or searching for a job. If you are not fully committed, then don’t bother starting.

Commitment means you will not give up when things get tough. It means being determined regardless of any obstacles standing in the way. It means not letting habits that are not helpful to what you are trying to accomplish stand in the way. And finally, but certainly not least, it means that when that immediate sense of motivation we all get when starting a goal wanes, that we keep going.

If you get nothing from this podcast episode, get that a desire to achieve something differs from being committed to achieving something.

Commitment takes a lot of effort. I am going to do a quick synopsis of what I see as 12 things you have to do to build your commitment muscle. 

1. Know what your values are - the life you want is at the core of what’s important to you. It guides the decisions you make and the actions you take.
2. Define your goals - Hopes and dreams are one thing, reality and results are another. If you want to achieve a certain result, you need to define how you are going to achieve it.
3. Remove obstacles - You have a great idea what they are. I’ve already mentioned three on this podcast and there will be more to come.
4. Change your mindset - What we think and say to ourselves affects what we are trying to accomplish.
5. Work on your self-confidence - it’s needed to accomplish everything.
6. Be persistent - like commitment. You need it or you won’t get very far. I’m going to paraphrase this quote by Calvin Coolidge. “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
7. Learn to focus - keep your attention on what you want to accomplish. Don’t allow distraction to sway your efforts.
8. Be responsible - for many of us, this means letting go of excuses and blame. Believing you are the captain of your ship.
9. Work on constantly improving - this happens when we are aware of our strengths and weaknesses and choosing to build on the weaknesses and take advantage of our strengths.
10. Surround yourself with motivators - In episode 3, I spoke briefly about mentors. Motivators are people who can help you become a better version of yourself, whether it’s a mentor, coach, or someone who’ve achieve what you want to achieve.
11. Learn - It’s not the same as constantly improving. This type of lesson is learning from your mistakes and not letting them stop you.
12. Reward your achievement - You work hard. So acknowledge your achievements by creating a process to celebrate each milestone.

Okay, so that’s it. Twelve really important ways to strengthen your commitment muscle. I know commitment is hard. We face it every day. In every part of our lives.

Whether we are trying to lose a few pounds or find a better job, or simply wanting to be more active, or eat healthier.

It doesn’t matter what it is; we need to be committed to make it happen.

Can you see why lacking commitment is such an important factor that would stop you from getting what you want from life?

I am going to end this post with two final thoughts. One is another quote from someone we’ve all heard of. Tony Robbins. He said, “The only limit to your impact is your imagination and your commitment.” Think about those words.

I am going to end by sharing that Fullrliving.com. My website has been an on again, off again personal project of mine for at least a decade. It’s on again and I plan to not stop this time and really pursue its intent to help others achieve a fuller life.

When I first started the site, I wrote a series on commitment that I am going to update and republish. Join the mailing list if you want to be updated when I publish the series again. You can join on any page of fullrliving.com including the community page which is focused on the podcast community.

Thanks for listening and I will see you next week when we focus on part four of the series.

Next week, we are going to explore how perfectionism keeps us from getting what we want.

Have a great week.

The 14 longest words in the English dictionary

• pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)
• pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)
• supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
• Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters) ...
• Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters) ...
• Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters) ...
• Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters) ...
• Thyroparathyroidectomized (25 letters) ...
• Dichlorodifluoromethane (23 letters) ...
• Incomprehensibilities (21 letters)