What are you committed to?
I put this question in front of my face as often as I can because the longer you sit with it, the more it illuminates.
It’s especially helpful when faced with a setback, stop, or stall.
Answering the question honestly helps distinguish whether the commitment is to what happened or our personal story about why we’re not measuring up.
In my relationships…am I committed to being right? Or being the friend/lover/coworker I’m capable of being?
In my actions…am I committed to merely knowing what to do? Or doing what it takes to make a solution?
In my life…am I committed to what I can get? Or what I can give?
Steve Jobs once said
“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward…”
( As we wrap up this year, what do your dots say you were committed to?
And while that point may be true, what does that mean for the future? )
Steve continues…
“…so you have to trust that the dots will somehow will connect in your future.”
It makes sense to abdicate some trust to the unknown at a macro level. But our future is ultimately created by the little actions we take every day.
Commitment is the difference between ALL IN and Almost.
Paradoxically, a 100% commitment is easier than a 99% commitment. The open door is what tempts us and reminds us that the person that we want to be isn’t already inside us. When we completely remove the back door, the option, the other way, we give ourselves the ability to find the conviction to stick to our word and discover the next best action, even if it is the more difficult one.
I was on a coaching call recently and the guest speaker was Tom Morris, an author, and philosopher. In response to a question about defining commitment, Tom referenced his latest book, “Plato’s Lemonade Stand” and had this to say:
“…the old saying when life hands you lemons, make lemonade? …It doesn’t say when life hands you lemons, bounce back. It doesn’t say when life hands you lemons, soldier on, and grit your teeth. It says when life hands you lemons, engage in alchemy, transformation, radical metamorphosis, turn what seems bad into something that is amazingly good…commitment is the persevering transformative action that connects the conceptual with real action.”
The actions that truly cause and create the future are the ones that are a result of a steadfast commitment. A commitment that may lead us into the darkness…only so that our light can show the way.
“Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” - Alexander Graham Bell
Enjoy this one? Read yesterday’s post below!
