Power of Committment

“Unless Commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes … but no plans.”
– Peter Drucker

During a team teleconference coaching session with four business leaders, one of the participants asked me why I was so meticulous with them when they were a few minutes late for their coaching call.

To the average person, failure to keep a commitment and complete an agreement seems small and trivial. However, I assert that every Commitment we make and/or break has a direct impact on our integrity, character and ultimately the success or failure of our life.

Webster’s Dictionary definition of Commitment is “a pledge to do something; the state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to an ideal or course of action.”

Commitment is about your word being congruent with your action. This alignment requires a high degree of personal discipline. It is the driving force, the catalyst that propels you forward to live into and manage the integrity of your word and follow through on your actions into the future.

Whenever you make promises with yourself and/or with others, you are establishing Commitment. It is an extraordinarily effective and valuable tool in creating self-discipline. Think of Commitment like the transmission of your car. While your car could have the most powerful, efficient engine, without a transmission it won’t go anywhere. Intentions without commitment are the same, they lead nowhere.

Commitment requires you to take a stand, make it be known and then deliver on your Commitment. Without commitment you always have a choice to either follow through with the integrity of your word or not. By Committing, you consciously choose to give up your choice to complete the task, activity and/or event or situation in your life.

Without Commitment, intentions mean nothing because you would never bring them into reality. True Commitment is the difference wanting to do great things doing great things.

Without commitment intentions are merely a “wish-list.”

Intentions with no activity, no movement nor motion often share the same weak language of “try”, “could” or “should.” These words have no value and strength associated with them.

With Commitment, there is no gray area. You are either committed to do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it, or you are not.

While, extenuating circumstances sometimes arise, my experience has been that in most cases when someone has not followed through on their commitment, it is due to self-mismanagement and lack of organization, preparation and planning.

The reason I find as to why most people are not willing to make a Commitment is that they are not willing to ‘pay the price’ and/or are afraid to fail. They often lack personal discipline and are not willing to take the time and energy required to do what needs to be done to fulfill on their word. They are not willing to give up the things that they like to do if it gets in the way of their intention.

The easier path of life is to ‘play small’ and not ask much of life and therefore not be required to fulfill on much. However, this path does not bring forth the “highest expression of oneself.”

Ask yourself, ”Am I Willing to make the commitment, to do what it takes to turn my intentions in to my reality? When you make a commitment, you invest your time, energy and effort to do whatever it takes. To do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done whether you like it or not – it’s about doing what’s right.

Every time we break a commitment with ourselves and others we diminish our personal power, our character and integrity. I personally believe that’s an exorbitant price to pay for breaking my commitment by being a few minutes late for a meeting!

Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.

It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions.

And the actions which speak louder than the words.

It is making the time when there is none.

Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.
[commonly attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Shearson Lehman (American Express) or anon]

Until one is committed

There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans;

That the moment one definitely commits oneself then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision;

Raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do,

Or dream you can do, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Begin it now.