Maintaining a commitment can be very difficult for people—why is this? I believe the most important part of maintaining a commitment is being clear from the very start why you are feeling the way you do. Around this time of the year people are setting resolutions. Their commitments are rooted in dissatisfaction—an aspect of your life that you are not happy with and you would like to let go of and change.
It is really important to spend time with this feeling of dissatisfaction and not just ignore it. The more intimate you get with the dissatisfaction the more meaningful the commitment will become. Spending time writing down what will happen if you maintain the commitment and what will happen if you don’t maintain the commitment can be very fruitful. Brainstorm and refine your thoughts and feelings to one page. Read this page daily and remind yourself why you made the commitment.
If you are unwilling to spend some time to become clear on what it is that you want your life to be about then chances are you will lose your commitment. I don’t think people lack willpower or discipline they just lack presence. I will address presence in my next blog.
It is really important to spend time with this feeling of dissatisfaction and not just ignore it. The more intimate you get with the dissatisfaction the more meaningful the commitment will become. Spending time writing down what will happen if you maintain the commitment and what will happen if you don’t maintain the commitment can be very fruitful. Brainstorm and refine your thoughts and feelings to one page. Read this page daily and remind yourself why you made the commitment.
If you are unwilling to spend some time to become clear on what it is that you want your life to be about then chances are you will lose your commitment. I don’t think people lack willpower or discipline they just lack presence. I will address presence in my next blog.
If you are new to the blog I aim to post weekly entries. I write about my challenges and triumphs in life. My intention is to help you live a more empowered life.
3 comments:
Thanks for continuing the blog, Johnny. I've enjoyed reading it over the last year. I agree wholeheartedly that it is, in fact, presence which is the necessary tool to fuel the commitments we make in our lives. Thankfully, we have yoga and meditation always available to us to cultivate the presence we need.
Keep up the good writing!
"I believe the most important part of maintaining a commitment is being clear from the very start why you are feeling the way you do".
I couldn't agree more. Doesn't it make sense that in order to go from point A to point B, first you need to know where point A is to MapQuest your route?
I agree with Diana and Johnny, that it is important to be clear about what you want your life to be about, in order to make and keep meaningful commitments and to discover where there are commitments that are not serving that life. But I see commitment not about getting from point A to B so much as staying on the path that leads you through life in a way that makes life fulfilling. After all, there is no guarantee we will get to point B (see Cara Bradley’s blog on Abandon All Hope) For example, I am committed to my marriage not because of any eventual goal or destination, but because my life is better for being with my husband, I am committed to yoga because my life is better when I practice, and I had the strength to release my commitment to a job that was not keeping me on the path I choose for may life, but pulling me towards another direction in which I was not happy or living the life that I want to live. A good friend of mine tells his students this –
Right foot, left foot, repeat. To me, this is a very good definition of commitment.
Post a Comment