Yesterday whilst researching on commitment, I came across a quote attributed to J. F. Kennedy former US President: "Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other".
This brilliant quote, I have rewritten to "Commitment and Leadership are indispensable to each other". For we are all leaders in our own right.
Leadership, as I had written in one of my blogs, has so many facets, and is not determined by your office or position.
Suffice to say that you will never grow if you consistently fail to commit to the goals you have set for yourself. The difference like I wrote on "intention" between an "intender" and a "doer" is commitment.
Many of us have lofty goals and ideas, but we are unable to commit to seeing them through.
I just want us to know, and this includes me, that staying committed to something further defines and strengthens your "why".
When you are tempted to either stall or quit, remember "your why". This strengthens your commitment towards it.
The entirety of commitment is summed up in the Lingo kids ABC song "what we say is what we do"...doesn't it? 😊
Commitment also allows you to find solutions to the hurdles and curveballs that life is likely to throw at you when you begin to work on those goals.
So think of commitment as perseverance, grit and willingness-to-do rolled together to make a delicious chocolate cookie. 😉
Commitment, like many concepts, comes in different forms. A couple who stay together in spite of the challenges can be said to be committed to the marriage (this is generally speaking of course).
This pandemic has shown us excellent commitment in many people. From medical personnel, waste disposal guys, teachers etc who despite the daunting challenges have stayed the course; remaining committed to what they signed up for. We are extremely grateful to them.
Like I always say, every virtue begins with self. When you set and commit to conquering a goal, you honour yourself, this is a very beautiful thing.
The Daily Writing Challenge set up by the gracious @ethicalleader is a personal challenge for me. And so, each day that I am not able to write, I see as a personal affront, because I took on the challenge, and intended to stay committed to it.
"Commitment; what we say is what we do".
Oftentimes, I am tempted to make up excuses for why I didn't write. Perhaps I just wasn't feeling the topic, or I had so much to do. Once I begin to draw up these excuses, I put my pen to paper and just write.
What this does for me is convince me that even when it is hard, it is doable. It then becomes a sort of SI unit for me on my lazy days.
Besides this, I get a new kind of confidence in knowing that something was hard for me, but I did it in spite of that difficulty.
Commitment thus builds one's confidence in their ability to do stuff. And you can always draw inspiration from those hard days whenever you're confronted with such in the future.
Commitment is beautiful in that it draws you away from excuses and mere interests. As I said before, it strengthens your why. In fact, if you allow it, commitment will diversify your "How".
Like my Yoruba people were wont to say "there are many ways to defeather a chicken". If one way closes, commitment will move you to find another way.
Commitment also encourages compounding.
What do I mean? compounding is a word generally associated with financial interests. Let me use the Pareto principle to explain. If you put in $20 into a well-considered investment, it may over time bring you $100. The $80 profit then becomes your earning, and you may decide to take out your capital and reinvest your earnings. Capisce?
Well, money is not the only thing that can be compounded. Your skills, habits, efforts etc can all be compounded but this takes commitment.
Commitment, therefore, helps you to compound. As your previous efforts compound, subsequent efforts become easier. (Many thanks to Modupe Odele, find her on twitter @moechievous for this awesome analogy.)
So commit to being committed. It is extremely rewarding if done right.
Namaste 🙏🏽
Bibireosefowora 💌
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