{"id":5175,"date":"2011-12-19T19:21:18","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T23:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/?p=5175"},"modified":"2020-10-28T10:02:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T14:02:31","slug":"barely-committed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/barely-committed\/","title":{"rendered":"Barely Committed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commitment is about being there when it\u2019s not convenient or easy. It\u2019s about steadfastness <\/em>in the face of change and crisis. ~ <\/em>Mary Pipher<\/em><\/p>\n

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Commitment comes in all sizes and shapes and levels of intensity. Sadly, when it comes to dreambuilding, many people make only feeble attempts.<\/p>\n

A woman I\u2019ll call Leslie comes to mind. Although she professes a desire to live a creative, self-employed life, her attempts to make that happen are repeatedly thwarted. In fact, if you have the stamina to listen to her story, you\u2019ll hear about years of being a victim of the most pathetic circumstances which have conspired to keep her stuck.<\/p>\n

Whenever I see Leslie, I can\u2019t help but picture YES, BUT tattooed on her forehead, because that favorite expression will be countering any suggestions I might make in response to her questions about improving her life.<\/p>\n

From her perspective, she\u2019s a modern version of Sisyphus, the ancient Greek eternally condemned to rolling a boulder uphill only to have it roll back to the bottom again. Sadly, Leslie seems committed to her belief that life is treacherous\u2014and she’s got proof.<\/p>\n

\u201dBehind 99 out of 100 assertions that a thing cannot be done is nothing but the unwillingness to do it,\u201d said William Feather.<\/p>\n

When we\u2019re barely committed, we\u2019re rarely going to win. It might sound backwards to commit ourselves to winning before we even begin, but that\u2019s the way it works.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurs commit themselves to market products and services before they know how the market will respond. They decide first to sell and then create their own markets afterwards.<\/p>\n

The same is true for education: we commit ourselves to continuing education and seminars and college degrees before any learning takes place.<\/p>\n

We commit ourselves to being parents before we hold a child in our arms.<\/p>\n

My friend Chris once told me about spending time on the phone with a woman named Carol who was struggling with her business. As Chris\u2014who was brilliant at seeing possibilities\u2014pointed out several positive outcomes, Carol weakly replied, \u201cI hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris hung up the phone and had a revelation. As she told me later, \u201cI suddenly realized that when people say, \u2018I hope so,\u2019 they\u2019re actually saying, \u2018I don\u2019t believe it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Commitment\u2019s not about hoping: \u00a0it\u2019s believing beyond any shadow of doubt that what you envision can and will happen even when you have no idea how that will take place.<\/p>\n

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At first glance it would seem that making a commitment is a verbal act. That could be part of it, but verbal commitments mean very little if our behavior isn\u2019t in alignment.<\/p>\n

For example, studies reveal that millions of people who have taken a public vow to be faithful to their spouse chronically break that commitment. And who hasn\u2019t waited for a service repairman who failed to show up at the time they agreed to? Or a friend who is never on time?<\/p>\n

Keeping our commitments is an act of integrity\u2014even when we don\u2019t feel like it. That\u2019s something the barely committed don\u2019t understand, but parents quickly learn that they must take care of their children when they\u2019re being lovable and when they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n

Same goes for taking care of our dreams. Whether the commitment is a big one or a little one, integrity assumes that we\u2019ll do what we said we were going to do.<\/p>\n

At the end of a talk in London, a young woman handed me a piece of paper with the best quote I\u2019ve seen on the subject.<\/p>\n

It simply read, \u201cDefinition of commitment: doing the things you\u2019d said you\u2019d do, long after the mood in which you said them in has left you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a definition worth remembering.<\/p>\n

\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0<\/p>\n

Ready to up your commitment to the Joyfully Jobless Journey? Join Terri Belford and me in Las Vegas on January 28 & 29 and get 2012 off to a successful start.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commitment is about being there when it\u2019s not convenient or easy. It\u2019s about steadfastness in the face of change and crisis. ~ Mary Pipher Commitment comes in all sizes and shapes and levels of intensity. Sadly, when it comes to dreambuilding, many people make only feeble attempts. A woman I\u2019ll call Leslie comes to mind….<\/p>\n

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