Do you have an idea,
something you want to do? Motivation gets a person started. Habit keeps a
person going. But what comes after motivation and habit, especially when
momentum stops, challenges set in, and people oppose your idea? An article in Irish Times has the answer (September
22, 2015). And the answer is … commitment.
An idea usually
generates the initial motivation, especially if you have some level of support,
someone saying ‘yes you can.’ Know that you already know enough to get started. There is always more to learn, but if you wait until knowledge is at saturation point before continuing to the next phase, it may never happen. Doing is learning too.
Then comes habit. Habit is equivalent to routine. People take
action on a routine basis – whether it’s exercise or work or doing something
creative. Regularity is important to keep the motivation going. Breaking the
habit is often people’s downfall in not reaching their goals.
Long-term habit leads
to commitment. It tends to ensure that even if a habit is broken, it may only
be a temporary break. Commitment means that the habit will be strong enough to
rebound from challenges that break the habit – holidays, personal problems to
attend to, injury, or in fact any change in routine.
Interest is not
commitment. Just because a person is interested in running a marathon, it
doesn’t mean that they will be committed to their goal. They can be motivated,
and they can establish a running routine or habit, but can they sustain commitment? What
is the difference between interest and commitment?
Interest means that a
person may read a lot on a subject, but commitment means the application of
reading into action. Interest makes excuses, whereas commitment seeks skills
and solutions to challenges. Interest can lead to procrastination, but
commitment is focused.
There are four steps
to commitment:
The first step to
commitment is mindset. For unprecedented progress, nothing should hold you
back. Commitment is therefore dedication.
The second step to
commitment is to refine your goals into manageable steps. Know clearly and
exactly what the end goal is and write down the steps and timeline to attain
the goal. Knowing that you want a mountain holiday backpacking from A-Z over
four days means that you not only need to be fit, but you also need to be able
to hike a certain distance each day in unpredictable weather, and you also need
equipment and maps and so forth. Commitment is therefore vision.
The third step to
commitment is to focus on important things. Work for the sake of work does not
always lead to a goal. Being distracted does not always lead to a goal,
although some distractions bring skills to the attainment of the goal that
might not have been previously thought of. Think of the Pareto 80/20 principle
whereby 80% of your time is spent on focused activity that leads to your goal,
and the other 20% is time for distractions or incidental aspects of the goal. Commitment
is therefore selectivity.
The fourth step to
commitment is to hold yourself accountable. This might involve weekly tasks, or
telling others of your goals, or joining a like-minded community. Commitment is
therefore accountability.
American philosopher William
James (1842-1910) is an example of commitment. He had a medical degree, aiming
to become a doctor, but a trip to Germany made him realize that his true
interest was philosophy and psychology. In 1902 he wrote ‘I drifted into
psychology and philosophy from a sort of fatality. I never had any philosophic
instruction, the first lecture on pyschology I ever heard being the first I
ever gave.’ His philosophy was ‘To change ones life: start immediately. Do it
flamboyantly. No exceptions.’ Someone else said ‘Life is short so give your
all.’
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