Why Your Commitments Are Important! (2024)

I challenge you to think of one major accomplishment in your life that was NOT the result of making an initial commitment to someone or something. I suspect you will find the number is very small or actually non-existent. Making and keeping commitments are foundational for our everyday lives, careers, and businesses.

Next think of how committed you were to the success of that accomplishment by indicating on a scale of 1-10, how committed were you? I suspect you were very committed, probably a 9 or 10. I really doubt that you were simply wanting something different? There’s a huge difference between the two. When you simply want something, you do it only when circ*mstances and attitude permit. However, when you’re committed, you neither offer nor accept any excuses, only results.

Simply stated: a commitment is a pledge that obligates you to assume a position or carry out a specific course of action. In my opinion, making a commitment to doing or supporting something, whether in your personal life or your professional life, is one of the most fundamental activities of success.

The Characteristics of Commitment Are Serious Business

Commitments are extremely powerful because they influence how you think, how you sound, and how you act which then feeds the perception engine of what others think of you or your company. When you approach something in a half-hearted hope or ‘best shot’ manner, the perception you are generating will be marginal at best.

Making a real commitment means that you try harder, you look for innovative solutions when faced with obstacles, you don’t consider quitting as an option, you are persistent and extremely resilient. In addition, a meaningful commitment gives you a possible script for how to handle things when times get tough.

John Maxwell says: Commitments separate the Doers from the Dreamers! People follow doers.

Now, make no mistake, everyone feels like quitting at one time or another. Unfortunately, most people quit when they hit the first hiccup or difficulty. They feel like taking the easy way out by quitting, which is why they seldom succeed at anything. This is one of the reasons so few people really want to track their commitments much less let others see their Credibility Reliability Index which is offered on the PE-ER platform coming out this summer.

After working with many leaders in all levels of companies over my career, I’ve learned that one of the most distinguishing characteristics of success is their persistence of commitment. Whether it’s a commitment to a relationship, marriage, job, career venture, fitness, wellness, or a personal improvement goal, the temptation to give up will always arise, however, the key is to anticipate it and make yourself a promise that the feeling of wanting to quit will not overpower your commitment.

Understand to Whom and What Are You Committing?

One of the keys to fulfilling meaningful commitments is to not over commit. The number of opportunities and decisions we’re faced with on a daily basis increases all the time and it continues to escalate. Technology is helping as well as hindering in our ability to measure and keep our commitments and this is why the phase I PE-ER platform was developed.

"If you are a leader, the true measure of your success is not getting people to work. It's not getting people to work hard. It is getting people to work hard together. That takes commitment." John C. Maxwell

Everyone has the same 1,440 minutes in a day so this is why it’s so important to be selective about what and who you commit to. With limited time, focus and energy, it’s simply not feasible to do everything you would like or even more importantly, those things that everyone else would like you to do. What you commit to is under your control, if you are willing to make the decision. Therefore, you must decide what is truly important to you and commit only to those things.

When you only commit to the people and things that are truly important to you, your career, or your company, the results are that your relationships will improve, you will be more successful in achieving your goals, and you’ll have more time to enjoy your journey.

Your commitment does not end with the decision! It’s imperative that you follow through. When I think of the importance of following through, I’m reminded of the motivational advice of Zig Ziglar:

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”

When you begin tracking your commitments, there will be times when you may think that the challenges of fulfilling your commitments aren’t worth the hassle, or the effort required is more than you’re willing to expend. However, just like anything worth pursuing, commitments require discipline and most of the time require you to act outside of your comfort zone. Be willing to stand up to the challenges, track your commitments, focus on keeping things like your integrity and reputation in mind.

Continually Evaluate Your Commitments

Many times commitments have some type of limitation that we may not have anticipated or cropped up from a secondary process and you need to remain agile enough to handle this.

By continually monitoring your commitments you can make a decision as to what the next steps are. There is a huge difference between making excuses for not honoring a commitment you’ve made and knowing that something just isn’t working, despite your best efforts.

However, a sudden shift in priorities could be a signal that it’s time to call it quits, or it could be that your resolve is slipping and you need to reinforce it.

Zig Ziglar said: “Most people who fail in their dream, fail not from lack of ability but from lack of commitment.”

Know how to ask yourself the right questions or find a coach who is willing to ask you these questions:

• What are you committed to achieving?
• How committed are you in make it happen?
• If it is not working, why is it not working?
• Can you look in the mirror and honestly tell yourself that you have given it your ALL?
• How hard and how long have you been working at it?
• Did you set your expectations too high?
• Have you identified specific reasons why something is not working?

If you’re honest with yourself, have been tracking related commitments and agree that you are giving your best efforts and you still aren’t making measurable progress, then it may be time to re-evaluate your strategy. If this is where you find yourself today, then I encourage you to email us at info@standardoftrust.com to discuss how you can use PE-ER to make this process easier.

Try to Identify Your Commitments

Are you able to list the important people and things in your life that you are sincerely committed to? If you can’t, I challenge you to make this list. With PE-ER you can examine and demonstrate to others how you are doing at upholding those commitments. For more information go to Standard of Trust website. Is it time to renew your determination?

Keep in mind:

• The only way you will enjoy a long-term relationship with someone is if you are committed to that relationship.
• The only way you will enjoy a successful career is if you are committed to it.
• The only way you will enjoy life’s journey is if you are committed to making the best of it and living life to its fullest.