Getting Committed
Years ago, I read a quote that spoke about the fact that in a breakfast of ham and egg, the pig is committed but the chicken is only involved. Think about that for a minute. The pig is all in. The pig has totally and unreservedly given of himself. The chicken on the other hand has a vested interest. She is simply making a contribution and moving on to something else.
You cannot be a casual participant in life and expect to reap great rewards. You cannot be the chicken. You have to be the pig and go all in. There are many who complain about feeling stuck and unable to achieve their goals. They wax on eloquently about all the challenges, setbacks and frustrations they have to deal with. “If only this were so, or not so”, they would say. The harsh truth however, is that we don’t get the things that we are merely interested in. We don’t get the things that are nice to have. We only get the things that we absolutely have to have. We get the things we are totally committed to achieving.
When you “sell out” to achieving your goals, you develop a high level of devotion and a singleness of purpose. Your reticular activator system kicks in and you begin to see all the opportunities and options that are available to you. Being committed means that you create a mindset that dictates you “burn the boats”. There are no alternatives. You must keep on pushing until you achieve your goal.
It is important to note that commitment is not just the act of persistently pursuing your goals. It is also about keeping the promises you make to yourself. Regardless of your overall goal, there are a number of smaller daily steps that you must take in order to realize it. Are you taking those steps? Are you keeping those promises? Keeping your promises to yourself is akin to keeping a solemn promise to a close friend (in this case, your brain). When you keep your promise, you build a tighter bond and reinforce trust. However, breaking your promise immediately sends a message to your brain that you are unreliable and cannot be be expected to follow through on the promises you make to yourself.
If you keep breaking the promises, your brain will eventually become conditioned and will automatically expect that you wont follow through and find ways to help you beak the commitment.
How do you break this cycle?
By gaining clarity.
Get clear about what you want
You need to determine what you want before you can truly commit. And to reinforce a point I made earlier, it must something that you really, really want as opposed to something that would be nice to have.
Figure out why you want it
The reason why you want something is often the differentiator between being committed or just being involved or interested. Commitment denotes a strong reason for wanting something. It creates the “have to have it” mindset. Not being clear leaves your goals in the “nice to have” column with no real focus and energy to achieve them.
Figure out the sacrifices you’ll have to make
Making sacrifices in the pursuit of your goals is inevitable. While in the throes of pursuing our goals, you might realize that you have to make way more sacrifices than you originally thought. This doesn’t mean that you won’t see your goals through. It simply means that you need to get clear on what you might need to sacrifice in order to get it done.
Identify the obstacles
That there are going to be obstacles in your way is the worst kept secret. They are inevitable and could easily derail your efforts to reach your goals. Internal obstacles include, poor habits, limiting beliefs or stinking thinking. External obstacles might show up in the form of people who don’t believe in you, lack of resources and so. Gaining clarity on these potential roadblocks will give you valuable insights into how you can work around them and ultimately succeed,
Keep On Pushing!
Devon Harris is a three-time Olympian and original member of the Jamaica Bobsled Team. Today, he is a highly sought after international motivational keynote speaker and author, sharing his philosophy of Keep On Pushing and never stop dreaming with Fortune 100 companies across many industries.Visit his website or connect with him on Instagram, twitter or Facebook.
