When you think about it, everything you ever achieved sprouted from a commitment you made, whether it’s your children, your degree, your job, or even your house. So, what is commitment? Simply, it is being dedicated to a cause. Learning how to commit is not simply about making commitments, however, it’s about keeping those commitments in the face of foreseen and unforeseen hurdles. To complete your commitments, you need to leave your comfort zone. You need to step out and accept the hurdles. You need to be committed to change to achieve success. So, how do we commit and achieve excellence in life?
How Being Committed to Change Leads to Success
Commitment is a binding force that leads the person to do whatever is necessary to attain success. According to Herscovitch & Meyer, it’s a force that reflects your desires and supports you to accept the changes that come your way.[1] Without commitment, you’ll never start, but to initiate even you need to be committed to change. It is the first thing to look for. Whenever you dream big, you need to take a step forward. When you have a new idea or a vivid vision, you must know which changes are needed to be made. When it comes to facing change, the real challenge starts. It will lead the way and show you if you want to remain committed to your goal or stay stuck. The implementation of the idea is far harder than you have assumed. There will be mental and physical obstacles, and when you learn to accept those changes, you can move forward. When you know that you must commit to achieving big, you must do it correctly. The correct approach will keep you going till the end. Here are 5 tips to help you commit.
5 Tips to Help You Stay Committed
1. Don’t Mistake Involvement for Commitment
Doing things halfway is the mother of everything that can go wrong. When you want your project to succeed, you invest yourself in it fully. Why? Because you can’t afford to only be involved; being involved means you’re not committed enough, and if you’re not committed enough, that thing you’ve been working on, won’t see the light of day. Don’t chicken out. You can’t work on several things at the same time and expect excellent results. Make sure you’re doing one thing, and you’re investing all you’ve got. The three major components of success are curiosity, creativity, and commitment. Successful people of the world are curious to learn, creative in bringing innovations, and always commit to their goals.[2] You already know that things are going to get harder when you work on your idea, and now they have, so you need to remain committed to change to get successful.
2. Learn How to Commit or Someone Else Will
There’s someone out there who knows everything you know and they’re probably not alone. We live in a highly-competitive environment and truth be told, it’s exhausting. So what are you going to do? Are you going to quit? Probably not, but why? You’re wired to keep on fighting—every time you think you’ve reached rock bottom, you connect to an inner mechanism based on millions of years of evolution whose sole purpose is keeping us alive. It can be either by running and hiding so you’ll be able to fight another day or by making you fight tooth and nail to get what you need. You probably heard about this fight-or-flight instinct. In fight-or-flight mode, your pupils dilate, your heart rate goes up, and your blood pressure increases with the purpose of getting more oxygen into your brain and muscles.[3] This response allows you to give much more in a competitive environment, but guess what? The same happens inside the other guy’s body. That’s why the one who’s more committed will be the last one standing. If you leave the mid-way and later you will see the other guy achieving that dream, it will definitely hurt. So, it is better to work hard today than to regret tomorrow.
3. Never Give Up, Never Give In
Quitting may appear easier than going forward. It has a lesson, too – a hidden and expensive lesson. Before you quit, you have already given your time, effort, and energy and even utilized some resources. Even when you are in the initial stage, the planning also took your time. Many times, even when you are not planning to quit, things may turn out the way you never expected. At that time, you must hold your ground and fight back in the best way you could. Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese author of The Art of War, called it “desperate ground”: Do you know why people quit? There are 3 major reasons:
Perfectionism Lack of faith General inability to keep commitments due to a history of failures
All three are bound to each other. The more you fail, the less committed you become. If you’re less committed, you have less faith. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, every non-perfect condition can break your resolution. It’s that simple. Fight perfectionism as nothing is truly perfect. There are some flaws, and you must remain committed while knowing them. You need to devise ways to take things towards perfection. To attain that level, you must put a lot of effort in the way. You must fight a lack of faith (whether in you or in others). First, be a believer. Believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals.[4] Your failures don’t define you. They were part of learning, and you must fight history to stop it from repeating itself. Just don’t repeat the same mistakes you have made previously and learn from your past. Learn to cope with failure when you commit. Failures teach us how to succeed if we look closely. Here’s a great reminder why you shouldn’t give up and how to do so: Giving up Is Not an Option! How to Not Give up and Stay Motivated
4. Free Your Mind, and the Rest Will Follow
Once you’re committed to something, your mind becomes like a homing beacon. There are no more choices to be made, just a focus on the target in front of your eyes—smooth sailing. But what happens when you suddenly change your mind? What if the choice you’ve made is no longer as attractive as you previously imagined it would be? You know of course what I’m talking about; that thought that you could’ve made a different choice, or as Neo said in the first Matrix “Why didn’t I take the blue pill?” That’s why when you make a choice, weigh it heavily, commit, and never look back.
5. Commit to Something Bigger Than Yourself
If you have problems committing, it will be beneficial to commit in a group setting. The most likely way to overcome the fear of commitment is to commit to something bigger than just you, and in a group, you’ll be to draw upon others for both motivation and support. In a committed group, everyone works for the benefit of that group. A perfect example is trying to teach a child to swim on his own versus with a group of kids his own age.
Bonus Video: 5 Strategies to Change Your Life Now
Bottom Line
Commitment allows us to fulfill our basic needs and achieve our most sought-after dreams. It gives us purpose. Without commitment, you’ll never start, but once you do so, it is necessary to stick to it to gain all the benefits. Start small and remember the five things I suggested above. It’s never too late to learn how to commit. Further, don’t be afraid of the change it brings. With every new change, there’s a new opportunity. Being committed to change will help you to get your life motives and attain your desires. Featured photo credit: Andrea Leopardi via unsplash.com
