Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do when you felt committed, long after you no longer feel committed. It is the follow through. With this in mind and heart, it is incumbent upon us all to be discerning and decisive around that which we will truly commit.
Of late, I have written on Leadership and Management … Consultation … Resourcefulness… and Certitude… and Cleanliness. In all, Character matters. In all, Commitment matters.
Discerning and decisive. 100% wholehearted. Confident in our choices, and prepared to keep with them and our agreements. Loyal to them and the people for which we most care… with the strength to endure and follow through. This is Commitment.
I am in that process of discerning and deciding. What matters most to me like oxygen? What causes and people? What concepts and ideas? What ideals? This day, I am discerning and deciding, and writing them down. No doubt, many will not be surprises to me. That said, the task is to get from “many” to the “meaning“. The task is to get so clear on vision, mission and just cause. The task is to be able to “see clearly” and manifest in imagination that which truly matters most… no pretense or posing. Part of that process for me is considering the global goals. All 17 matter to me. But what matters most in terms of my capacity to contribute? Getting clear on same helps in achieving clarity on Commitment.
Another part of that is applying my years of progressive understanding around What Color is Your Parachute? I wholeheartedly recommend the read and reflective work. That said, at it’s simplest, Commitment requires us to be courageously honest and truthful with ourselves on that which is preciously important; and to stick to it. The better able we are to clearly and cleanly discern and decide, the better able we are to promise and commit. A promise never kept was never a promise and the only promises that are real are those to which we commit.
There are no levels of Commitment. Commitment commits. To commit is to pledge and bind and to be a “preserver of the sanctity” of our pledge. Anything less is not Commitment. The practice of Commitment in knowing and keeping our promises… it builds Trustworthiness. And, Trustworthiness is a priceless asset in school, work, business, community and life.
Commitment keeps our promise which builds our Trustworthiness.
With Commitment, we commit to the follow through… and people see that we do. With Commitment, people come to trust us for our work and intention. We build such reputation for consistency and Reliability. With Commitment, people know what they are getting with us. The people who most want we do and are… they can more easily find us. Commitment builds our Trustworthiness.
For me, today, I am answering “For what do I most desire to be trusted?” For what do I absolutely want to be known? The answers to these identify my focus of Commitment. Today, I discern and decide. Today, I ask myself with Courage and Honesty, to what and whom am I prepared to truly commit. To what ideals, people and projects? What matters so much to me that I am fully prepared to make and keep my promise? Then, hold to that.
How about you? Reflect on the Virtues Reflection Card above on Commitment. Ask how it applies for you now and going forward. For what do you most want to follow through and be trusted? For what and whom do you most want to serve with Reliability? Maybe even consider the global goals and/or get your hands on What Color is Your Parachute? You can even check out this post from the past on purpose and service. Either way, in so answering, you best define your Commitment… your WHY … and get to your own Hell Yeah.
Peace, passion and prosperity…
Barry Lewis Green, The Unity Guy with Epic Engage.
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ― Abraham Lincoln