Do you struggle with making commitments? And I’m not just talking about relationships here. I mean other big, important things like committing to starting a business, launching a job search, saving money, losing weight, I could go on and on…
Making a commitment can be scary for many of us. It means we are going “all in” to accomplish a goal. But what if we commit and we fail? Or we make a mistake? Or things don’t turn out exactly the way we planned? Or it’s just too hard to get it done?
If you’re not ready to jump in with both feet and you’re just sticking your big toe in the water, then the thing you really think you want to accomplish will absolutely not get accomplished.
How do I know this? I’ve watched too many smart and successful women talk about what they want to achieve and then they don’t go all in and commit 100% effort to get it done. If they were committed, they wouldn’t be hesitating through constant talking and rationalizing. They would be taking the risk to commit – and taking a risk, as I said earlier, can be scary.
But here’s the real deal – if you want something bad enough to go all in and you’re willing to accomplish that really big thing, you WILL commit and jump in with both feet. When you finally commit, your goals will become very clear and you will have the confidence to see it through.
It takes courage and strength to make a commitment to something you really want. You need to show up for that something every day without excuses or a half-baked attitude. If you don’t show up, that means you are simply not committed and that goal you really want to accomplish will continue to be just a wish.
Here’s an example: I worked with a woman a while back who was thinking about divorcing her husband. She was very hesitant to commit to her decision. She was worried about her husband’s reaction, her family’s reactions and how difficult it would be to go through the divorce process itself. She thought about it constantly but didn’t have the courage to commit to her decision. Only after she really explored what her future life would look like if she stayed in her marriage and if she left, and what her priorities and values where, was she able to commit 100% to her decision to divorce. That was when she became very clear and summoned the courage to stick by her commitment.
And like everything else in life, some people may not support your commitments. Keep in mind that those people may be reacting out of their own fear of change. Although they are being protective and mean well, ultimately they are not you. Your opinion is the only opinion you should be caring about.
So think about what you would be losing out on if you don’t have the confidence to commit. How would that impact your life going forward?
Single, working moms commit to so many things – kids, jobs, family and friends. Now it’s time to commit to yourself!