Commitment has been described as “dedication, steadfastness, allegiance, faithfulness, loyalty”. It’s about giving oneself to a cause with success as the only option. Commitment binds you irrevocably to a cause you believe in until success comes.
It’s not the same as involvement. The world is full of involved people. Anybody can be involved. Being involved in an activity that involves other people does not make you part of a team. As a matter of fact, it only takes a number of people involved in working together to have a group. A group is not a team. The difference? In a group, people are involved in activity. In a team, people are committed to a process and a goal. The difference between commitment and involvement is known by the difference in the omelette and corned beef. In the omelette, the chicken is involved. In corned beef, the cow is committed!
Commitment is the secret of the success of the postage stamp. To get the letter to its destination, the stamp first commits to the envelope. After that, the rest is a matter of time. A train gets to its destination because it commits to the rails.
There can be no commitment without conviction. People cannot commit to what they have not taken some emotional decisions about. True commitment begins when an individual can find a ‘WHY’ for his actions. Without a compelling reason that appears bigger than the individual’s natural capacity, there can be no true commitment. Commitment is the difference between wishful thinking and dogged pursuit Commitment is the trigger of passion. No matter what you are passionate about, if you do not first commit to the course or process, your passion can only end up as a mirage.
Commitment operates principally at five levels.
- Commit to God: Those who have discovered themselves in God have no problems committing to Him. Those who keep sidetracking God in the success venture will find out soon enough that it is the pathway to frustration and an insignificant demise. Success without godliness is nothing but emptiness. In one of his Psalms, David describes the man who says there is no God as a fool!
- Commit to a cause: You were never created to solely pursue wealth and all the trappings of worldly success. After all your bills are paid and you have a spill-over, what next? Highly successful people first find a higher cause for which they are willing to lay down their lives if need be, then they throw themselves wholly into it. The principle is that if death does not scare you, the possibility of failure cannot. As the Bible has rightly said, those who keep their lives lose it and those who lose theirs find it! The other name for it is significance. Make money in order to enhance your platform for significance. In recent times, Bill Gates has committed time and resources to finding a solution to the scourge of HIV/AIDS and poverty eradication, especially in the 3rd World. What he did caught the attention of Warren Buffet, the world’s second richest man, (who is not reputable for charity) who gave $37b USD to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When asked why, he answered, “Because they know how to give it away better and faster than I can”
- Commit to a process: Everything in life evolves. The only tree that grew to full stature in one day died the same day. Ask prophet Jonah. If you cannot commit to process, you will forfeit the promise. To master any skill, there is a process of apprenticeship. Permit yourself to fail. The Olympic medalist who won a 100-metre dash in less than 10 seconds was only being celebrated for what he had invested years of consistency and hours of practice into. Tiger Woods had played golf as a child and he had always nurtured a vision to win every championship in golf. So he started to work towards that early. The father (himself a good lawn tennis player) of Serena and Vanessa Williams, world lawn tennis champions, had coached them to aspire to win since they were young. What the world celebrates today in these people is actually the process they had committed to long before they started winning laurels.
- Commit to people: There is no self-made man. No man is an island. Your highest aspiration is someone’s current reality. Deliberately seek and cultivate the company of people who are more successful than you. It may not be easy but it is the fastest way to grow! Commit to mentors. Commit to protégés if you are a mentor. Commit to your spouse. Although there are other channels of transmission, HIV/AIDS is primarily a disease of involvement without commitment! Commit to your children. Commit to your employer. Commit to purpose-oriented relationships. Life is structured in a way that there is no self-made man. To significantly make a difference in life, you need people. When God wants to lift anyone up, He sends people. Conversely, when the devil wants to bring a man down, he uses people.
- Commit to yourself: Budget for self-development. Your greatest investment is the one you make on your personal development. Read. The worst book is better than an empty head. Resolve to make yourself a better person daily.
When you are right, everything you do will be right. Love yourself. Accept yourself. Any other you in circulation is a counterfeit. Change that will last must be based on change taking place within.
Square up your shoulders and tell yourself, “I deserve to succeed. God helping me, I will”!
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
and then