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EPISODE 20 – Being Committed to the Plan
“There’s a difference between interest
and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it
only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you
accept no excuses – only results.”
―Kenneth H. Blanchard
It amazes me how many people don’t get past the decision that they know that they need to make a change. Some people are only interested in making a change but do not want to put together a plan of action to really make that change become reality. Commitment is the feeling of dedication and loyalty to a cause, activity, or job; to be wholeheartedly dedicated. Commitment is important in any form of success. You will want to ensure that you have listened to Episode 19-Be Willing to Sacrifice for Success.
How bad do you want what you say you want? Have you been talking about doing something or are you ready and committed to making a plan of action and to follow through?
Get Your Mind Right. First of all, you need to believe you can do it when you believe that you can accomplish something you will persevere when tough times come upon you.
Interest is talking about getting into shape; commitment is getting up and going to the gym regularly.
Interest is surfing the Internet or researching information about a topic; commitment is about creating content and publishing it.
Interest is buying a book on financial management; commitment is reviewing your numbers, tracking your spending, and implementing what you have read.
Have you noticed the difference between interest and commitment?
Interest is a passive activity; whereas, commitment is active.
Commitment is about taking action and getting results.
We can slip into the habit of interest very easily. If we look at the different areas of our lives, we might notice that some areas were more committed at certain times than we are at others.
I was taken back recently as I was sharing many of the accomplishments and the growth of the podcast with a friend. She knows that I’m a big dreamer and I would like to accomplish so many more things.
And then she posed the question, “Why are you stalling?” “Why are you holding yourself back?”
She caught me off guard but at the same time, I had a moment of clarity.
“Why wasn’t I taking the actions steps I knew I needed to do?”
I told myself that I have competing priorities. I had to remind myself where my greatest return on investment would be. If there is one thing I could be doing right now that would make the biggest difference, why wasn’t I doing it?
I had no excuse. I knew what I needed to do.
I came home that evening and completed the paperwork that I needed to do to put the closure of something I had been delaying and to move forward direction. I contracted a freelancer to do some graphic design work for my speaker one sheet that I kept telling myself I had to edit. I stayed up till 3 AM because when you that I needed to get this done once and for all.
No excuses! I made it a priority. I texted my friend and her with a response was awesome! It is interesting to me how others can see which you need to do but sometimes when you’re so close to what your goal is for whatever reason you fail to see it. That is why it is important to surround yourself with people who support you and want to help you achieve your goals. When I was sharing this story with a mutual friend, she stated the same thing which reinforced to me that these new actions needed to be taken.
My next question was: Do I truly believe the thoughts I have been having?
No…so why should I hang on to the belief? Do what you need to do and see what happens? The “yes” you have been waiting for could be closer than you think.
Sometimes we think that we need to be at a certain level of knowledge, fitness, or finances to be credible or believe that others will value what we have to say. You already know enough, you are perfect the way you are, and rich or poor no one can define your worth but you. Let others hear your voice and step up to the table. Share your ideas and go after your dreams, you never know whose life will change when you follow through on doing what you need to do.
Rise Up. People who rise up are the most committed. You will need to be dedicated to doing the work even when you don’t feel like it. A friend of mine recently returned from some naval training, he posted a picture of his troop doing push-ups in the rain and mud.
The picture was worth 1000 words when it comes to commitment. I’m sure many of us might say, “You know what? We can do those inside.” These individuals defined commitment- rain or shine they got it done. This is what we need to do -it is to know that each day we need to do what we say we need to do in order to get closer to our goals. Sometimes what happens is when you skip one day it is too easy to skip the next day? You need to build habits that when you don’t feel like it, you take some sort of action to keep the momentum going. When you face uncertainty, you need to continue taking action. Your action may be gaining knowledge by doing research or asking a mentor. No matter what that is you are still taking action – step into it!
Make a Plan. Don’t hold anything back. Make a plan and be very clear as to what that will look like. Set goals and break down those goals into smaller manageable pieces. These are the actions steps that you need to take to help get you closer to where you want to be. Plans can change as you go. It is about progress, not perfection.
Maintain Your Focus. Focus on what’s most important to you. Learn what your values are. Set your priorities. When you align your decisions with your values setting priorities becomes easy. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Remember they are on their own path reaching their own goals. Your goal may not be the same as the goal that they set for themselves so focus on what you need to do. People who are able to define what’s important to them can be intrinsically motivated to go after their goals. Others do not mean to nag or prod them to go after what they say is important to them they do it because they want to get the results.
Set Up Accountability. Track goals, put a stake in the ground and tell people what you’re and planning to do, or hire a coach or invest in an accountability partner. Setting up accountability will keep you on track and committed because you have to answer to yourself or someone else.
Create a No Excuse Zone. A person who is committed to their plan doesn’t make excuses they go and make things right. This is when you see ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It is all because of their level of commitment.
Make Quitting Not an Option. A person can only quit when they decide that the goal is no longer important to them and that they are no longer intrinsically motivated to obtain that goal. There will be times when you will feel like you’re tested and you come so close to achieving your goal and you may have a setback. This setback is not the time to quit it is a test to challenge you and help you push further out of your comfort zone. You will figure it out allow yourself time to be in the space of growth.
I watched a Big Think Video narrated by Jesse Itzler. He mentioned that he met a Navy Seal at a race and decided to cold call him to see if he would come and live with his family for a month. He figured he could learn a thing or two from him. The video is about the Navy Seal 40% Rule. When we feel that we are done, we have only utilized 40% of what we have in our tanks. We do not utilize our full capacity – there is so much more in us to give.
An article in Inc magazine stated, “For the SEAL, though, it’s about realizing where your comfort level is and completely ignoring it. Sometimes it truly is hard to know whether something is worth doing.” Are you going to do what is easy or are you going to do what you need to do because it will be worth it?”
I want to leave you with a quote:
“If you had started doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it.” ― John Mayer
You are enough! Be committed to the plan and make what you want to happen! No stalling! No holding yourself back – go get it!
DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com
Time: 16.22 min
I can talk about this topic for days but I’ll make sure that we streamline and for the purposes of this podcast. It has been demonstrated that people who were physically fit tend to eat better, have better habits, and they missed fewer days of work because they’ve developed a high resistance to illness because their immunity is strong. Physical fitness provides many benefits and it is more than looking good in the mirror. I once read an article about how our brain functions during exercise and as soon as we’re done exercising the blood flow shift to the front of the brain where we are better able to focus and concentrate. So if you have something that requires your focus and attention you may want to go for a brisk walk before or run or some form of physical activity before you jump in to your work. People who are active fit tend to be more accepting and tolerant of themselves and others. They are productive and better problem solvers. They retain information better than those who are not active. They expressed having low levels of stress and fatigue.
I used to have a phrase that I used to say, “I will sleep when I’m dead”. If you overwork yourself and don’t take care of yourself that day may come sooner than you think. Plan to get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night if possible. Develop a routine before you go to bed. Turn off the TV and electronics at least 30 min. before going to sleep so that you can calm down your mind. You will have a sharper mind and think much clearer about the decisions that you have to make on a regular basis.
