By Brian Moran
I remember when I was a young boy in fifth grade yearning for a new 10-speed bicycle. Boy, was it a beauty: metal-flake green paint with racing tires and a black leather saddle. The problem was it cost $100—a lot of money for a 10-year-old kid.
But that didn’t stop me. I had to have that bike. So I did anything and everything I could to earn money. There was no way I was not going to own that bike. There were times when I thought about quitting, and sometimes the distractions were hard to resist. Work or go to the movies with my friends? Work or watch Saturday morning cartoons and then play baseball? What kept me going was a mental picture of that bike beneath me as I was riding around the neighborhood—the ultimate definition of freedom for a 10-year-old. I’ll never forget how excited I was buying the bike and bringing it home, and how proud I was as I rode it down my street.
The value of commitment
I’m sure you can recall a similar time when you were determined to accomplish something meaningful to you—when you were willing to do whatever it took to make it happen.
That’s an example of commitment. The dictionary defines commitment as “the state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to some course of action.” This is the important part: the personal connection to what you get when you fulfill your commitment. A commitment is a personal promise that you make with yourself. Keeping your promises with others builds strong relationships. Keeping promises to yourself builds character and esteem.
We all know intuitively that commitment is fundamental to effective execution and high performance. Yet, many of us fall short of our commitments on a regular basis. It seems that when things get difficult, we find “reasons” to focus on other activities.
Often, our interest wanes when things get tough. But there is a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you only do it when circumstances permit. But when you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses—only results.
When we commit to something, we do things that we wouldn’t ordinarily do. The question of “if” goes away, and the only question is “how.” Commitment is powerful, and yet there are times when all of us struggle to commit. Here are four keys to ensuring successful commitments:
1 Strong desire: To fully commit to something, you need a clear and personally compelling reason or desire. Without a strong desire, you will struggle when the implementation gets difficult. With that compelling desire, however, “insurmountable” obstacles are seen as challenges to be met. The result that you are striving for needs to be meaningful enough to you to get you through the hard times and keep you on track.
2 Keystone action: After you’ve identified an intense desire to accomplish something, you need to identify the core actions that will produce the result you seek. In today’s world, many of us have become spectators, rather than participants. We must remember that it’s what we do that counts.
There are numerous steps that go into accomplishing any endeavor. In most cases, there are a few core activities that account for the majority of the results, and in some cases there may be one, perhaps two, keystone actions that ultimately produce the result. It’s critical to identify the one or two keystone actions and focus on them.
3 Count the costs: Commitments require sacrifice. In any effort, there are benefits and costs. Too often, we claim we desire something without considering the costs. Costs are the hardships that you have to endure to accomplish your desire. Costs can include sacrifices of time and money, or the acceptance of risk, uncertainty and loss of comfort. Identifying costs enables you to consciously choose whether or not you’re willing to pay that price. It is extremely helpful when you’re in the middle of one of the costs to recognize that you anticipated this and decided it was all worth it.
4 Act on commitments, not feelings: There will be times when you won’t feel like doing the critical activities. We’ve all been there. Getting out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to jog in the winter cold can be daunting, especially when you’re in a toasty bed. During these times you will need to learn to act on your commitments—not your feelings. If not, you’ll never build any momentum and will be continually starting over, or as is so often the case, giving up. Learning to do the things you know you need to do regardless of how you feel is a core discipline for success.
Many times, commitments are made more arduous by the time frame in which the commitment is made. It’s difficult to commit to anything for a lifetime. Even keeping a promise for an entire year can be challenging. Consider breaking the commitment into a smaller increment, such as three months. It’s much easier to establish and keep a commitment for 12 weeks than to keep it for 12 months. At the end of the 12 weeks, reassess your commitments and begin again.
Our commitments ultimately shape our lives. They support sound marriages, create lasting relationships, drive our results and help build our character. The act of making and keeping commitments starts a constructive process that is self-reinforcing and empowering.
New York Times best-selling author of The 12-Week Year, Brian P. Moran speaks to groups around the globe on leadership. To inquire about having him at your next meeting visit www.brianpmoran.com.
