Are You Committed Or Just Interested?

There is a difference between interest and commitment and what I’ve discovered is that being interested isn’t enough.  When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you’re committed to something you make no excuses and do whatever it takes to achieve your goal.  In other words, what separates someone who is interested in something from someone who is committed to something, is action.  Commitment implies making a decision, setting your sights on your destination, and stepping on the gas.  When you’re committed to producing a certain result, you begin at the end.  You see the goal and then make a plan that will achieve the desired outcome.  You eliminate from your mind any possibility of not getting what you want.  Instead of asking, “is this possible?” you ask, “what must I do to make this happen?”

Commitment requires being all in.  If you are committed to your goal, you make it a priority and allocate the time and energy it will take to reach that goal.  Commitment requires you to do whatever it takes where as being interested means you’ll do just enough but no more.  Being committed is being all in even if you are not yet sure how to achieve the goal.  Committed people think outside of the box to find answers and resources.  Committed people do not fear when they run into roadblocks.  Obstacles don’t take a committed person out of the game.  They simply use them as a learning opportunity so that they get better at their game.  Committed people seek advice on how to solve problems and get right back to business.  Committed people focus on achieving their goal instead of concentrating on how hard it might be to achieve their dream.  A committed person creates his own source of energy thus inspiring others around them.  Committed people are willing to be uncomfortable to achieve their goal.

Refuse to let excuses be bigger than your commitment.  Keep your goal in the front of your mind.  Make action towards the goal a part of your daily routine.  Commit to being the person with the right mindset that will achieve your goals.  Commitment is an act not a word.  Most people fail not because of a lack of desire but because of a lack of commitment.  Be a person who makes a commitment, puts his strength in making it happen and then let nothing stop you short of your goal.  “The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Set a goal, be committed to that goal and then teach someone else how to do it.

Which Way Are You Looking?

Two Zen monks were on a journey when they came to a riverbed. At the edge of the river was an elderly woman who was unable to cross the river by herself.  The older monk put her on his shoulders and across the river they all went.  On the other side, the monk put her down and she went on her way and the monks their way.  Several miles later the older monk noticed that the younger monk was obviously troubled by something and so he asked him about it. The younger monk stated that according to the tenets of their beliefs, they were not permitted to touch women and yet the elder monk had carried the old woman across the river.  The younger monk could not let it go and was angry and upset for several hours.  To this, the elder monk replied. “I left the woman at the riverside. Why are you still carrying her with you?”

Don’t stumble over something behind you.  In other words, don’t keep thinking about your past.  What happened, happened. Learn from mistakes and obstacles and move on.  As long as we put our failures behind us, it’s possible to overcome anything.  We all tend to carry lessons from the past (if we’re smart), which is a good thing. That’s how we learn and grow but if past mistakes or hurts weigh us down, we lose the opportunity to live our best life. Remember when you first learned to ride a bike?  What if you failed to try again after your first fall?  Our struggles are part of our story but they are never to be used as excuses to not try again.  Moving on is crucial but some people remain stuck and lose a lot of time and life because they over-think their past.  That time has gone and it will never return. It won’t be easy but forgetting what lies behind is one of the best things we can ever do for ourselves.  It won’t be easy – not at all, but it will be well worth it.  Every failure and success is an opportunity to learn something new and to not repeat the old mistakes.  Use the good things you learned to make you feel better and you can use the bad memories as a lesson in case you ever have the urge to commit the same mistake again in life.

Don’t look back you are not going that way.  Life is meant to be understood backwards but lived forward.  Everyone has a past that was probably unmanageable at some point in their life.  Regret is the worst human emotion since there is absolutely nothing we can do to change history.  Let bygones be bygones.  It’s time to focus on the present and commit to a brighter future.  It’s time to release the burden of the past and seize today’s opportunity.  Stumbling over what’s behind you is not productive.  The road that lies ahead of you leads to your future that is full of possibilities.  There will always be missteps, times we wish we could go back and start over or change what happened but when we can’t, we must face forward and skip over the stones that appear in our path.  Learn from the past but embrace your future.  Courage means that you won’t let fear stop you. If you don’t leave your past in the past, it will destroy your future.  Live for what today has to offer and not what yesterday took away.  There is far too much life yet to be lived.

What’s Your Plan?

Isn’t it crazy how we can look back a year ago and realize how much everything has changed?  The amount of people that have left your life, entered, and stayed.  The memories you won’t forget and the moments you wish you could.  It’s crazy how all that happened in just one year.  As you know, time waits for no one and it is my wish that you make it a point to take advantage of the time you have now. This time next year can be a time of reflecting on the many goals you achieved during 2018.  A lot of good can happen for you if you make a plan and work hard at it.  What did you leave out that you should have done last year?  How many good opportunities did you fail to take advantage of?  You probably took advantage of some and missed some but being able to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible is important.  Sometimes just one opportunity can mean the difference between an extraordinary life and a mediocre one.

Unfortunately, opportunities don’t last forever but the good news is that great opportunities often come from your own great ideas so don’t say no to them.  If you’re negative about yourself, you’ll just limit your own options.  This is not a good state of mind to be in. Don’t be afraid to take a risk.  See risks as an opportunity to get what you want out of life.  However, you must have a plan if you are to make the most of the opportunities in your life.  Anything that you plan to succeed in must start with a plan.  A dream without a plan is just a wish.  People don’t plan to fail – they fail to plan. If you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there.  A plan will keep you focused so focus on the plan.  If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you will fall into someone else’s plan and guess what they have planned for you? Not much!  No one ever wrote down a plan to fail, to be broke, lazy or stupid.  Those things happen when you don’t have a plan.  You must have some vision for your life. Even if you don’t know the plan, you have to have a direction in which to go.  You want to be in the driver’s seat of your life because if you don’t life will drive you.

We all have dreams but in order to make a dream reality it will take a lot of determination, commitment, motivation and self-discipline. Discipline is the bridge that connects goals with reality.  To stay motivated, take it one day at a time.  Surround yourself with positive people.  Reward yourself after each small victory.  Believe in yourself.  Visualize the day you will accomplish your dream.  Where you are today is the perfect starting point.  No dream is too big if you have the right attitude.  Work hard.  Most people can dream but few are willing to work hard at making their dream happen.  Don’t be one of those people.  Make a plan and work the plan.  If necessary, change the plan but not the dream.  Keep moving forward. You won’t regret it.  Don’t dig up in doubt what you have planted in faith. The moment you are ready to quit is usually the moment right before the miracle happens.

You may have fallen down and don’t want to get up but don’t look at it as a choice.  Get up!  Others are depending on you and most importantly, you need to know that you can accomplish something. You already know what it feels like to give up.  It’s time you learn what it feels like if you don’t.  So, get up.  Show others what you are made of.  Show them what you are capable of doing.  Remember, when you do get up you will be much stronger than when you fell. Life is about getting back up.  Don’t wish it were easier – work hard to be better.   When the world says ‘give up’, hope says ‘try it one more time.’ Remember, the oak tree was once a nut that stuck to its roots.