What do you imagine when you think of the word commitment?
Is it the person you’ve chosen to spend your life with? Or those you’ve decided not to?
Is it the trainer in the gym who has you work to a fierce program to get you fit and healthy?
Is it the kids that you feed, clothe and educate? Or the parent you call in to, phone or take care of?
Perhaps it’s the community you live in or the church/synagogue you pay membership to?
Is it the food you chose to eat, the diet you follow?
So how about a little test.
Write a list of all the things you are committed to.
I wonder how long your list is. When I first tried this, my list was very long indeed. It included all the values and ideals that I’d held my entire life. And I’m guessing other people’s values and choices too.
Because, you see, there’s a second part of this exercise.
Go through your list of commitments and put a tick before all of those commitments that you have taken action upon in the last week.
Have you eaten healthily, gone to church, taken time to sit with your kids while doing their homework or study project? Have you met up with your community or participated in an activity that aligns with your commitment list.
If the answer is yes, to your entire list, wow! And well done.
For most of us, the list is a lot shorter once you notice what your actions prove.
And that was certainly the case for me.
I liked the idea that I was committed to all kinds of things but my actions proved that I simply was not.
So I decided to turn over a new leaf – perhaps you’d like to too.
To make the list of commitments a lot shorter, but to really live these commitments.
It makes life a lot simpler and more empowered. You see when you think and feel that you’re committed to tons of things and yet never find time to do anything about it, it’s unsettling.
And you can end up feeling guilty all the time.
There’s this total lack of alignment between your thinking, your desires and your actions. It’s draining.
I’ve been reconsidering my commitments over the last few weeks. You see, while I’ve taken on some great new projects and been super busy, I’ve missed out on some stuff that I believe I’m committed to.
So I’ve had to ask myself some hard questions.
What am I truly committed to? And where can I create actions so that this alignment feels true.
And here’s what I’ve come up with.
Firstly, writing. For nearly 10 years, I’ve written a story for this blog every single Tuesday. But over the last 6 months I’ve let it slip. You see, first it was my book proposal, then it was work overload. So I started questioning my commitment. I can happily report that I am still committed to this and will get back on track. I don’t promise every Tuesday as religiously as I’ve done in the past, but I will write at least 2-3 times per month (and still send interesting resources to you as they come by me…).
Secondly, health and fitness. I’m back on track for more regular exercise. Always hard to keep up with my travel and work schedules, but no more excuses, I’m back.
So what are you committed to right now?
