“Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going”.
Are you interested in good health, cordial relationships, prosperity, respect, and happiness? I know the universal answer would be an emphatic ‘Yes’. Isn’t it?
Now, if I may ask you, are you committed to get all of the above?
We all want or desire all the great things and experiences, but only till the time they are convenient to get. Isn’t it? Given a choice who would not want to have a healthy body? But the challenge is to control diet, regular exercise. Isn’t it?
How many of us ever thought of learning to play some musical instrument or to play some sport at professional level? Many, I guess. But then what stopped us from achieving the goal? We were interested, but not committed. What is commitment? How do I know whether I am committed or not?
I may be interested in helping all mankind, but my family welfare is my commitment. What is the difference?
Commitment is an act of visible willingness.
Does this sound familiar to you?
- I would have loved to join this course, but I don’t have time?
- When I started learning tennis, I was super excited but now, I need to pull myself for every game.
- I really want to know if my loved one or friend is committed to me.
- I broke up due to lack of commitment from the other person.
- All was just going great, it’s just that feeling of insecurity which made us drift apart.
We are interested in everything till the time it’s easy or convenient. We do things till the time and circumstances are favorable, but when you are committed to something you make no excuses and focus on results.
What percentage of commitment do we expect from our soldiers, doctors, drivers, teachers, sportsperson or family members? Of course, 100%. Will 99% be sufficient? No. How would you feel if your lover tells you that I am committed to you 99%. You will be more worried about that 1%. Isn’t it? We need 100% commitment from others 100% of times. What are we 100% committed to?
Dashrath Manjhi, also known as Mountain Man, was a laborer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India, who carved a path 110 m long (360 ft), 9.1 m (30 ft) wide and 7.7 m (25 ft) deep through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km. His story is an apt example of commitment towards cause. There is also a Hindi movie made on his life “Manjhi- The Mountain Man”. It is an amazing love story too. Everyone must watch it.
Whether we are committed or not is reflected in following traits:
2. Flexibility
3. Patience
Sacrifice:
Every commitment requires a sacrifice. Once you make a commitment, you give up some freedom. By choosing to commit to one thing, you may have to give up other things.
What are you willing to sacrifice? Nothing significant has ever been achieved without significant sacrifice. When India was under British Rule before 1947, majority of Indians were interested in independence, but there were only very few who were willing to sacrifice their lives, livelihood, and family. Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil are some of the names who sacrificed everything to get independence for our country. They were not just interested, but committed to attain freedom.
Every committed person is willing to pay the price. To attain peak of our health we need to sacrifice taste, comfort, and temptations. To attain cordial relationships, we must sacrifice our ego. Isn’t it?
“If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want will be the sacrifice”. Think about it.
Consistency: We get motivated for a while and start many things but do not take them through. We may have taken some initiative, but what we lack is completing them. Completion requires consistency of efforts. Do not judge yourself or others because of random behaviour. Our routine behaviour determines our life. It is not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, it’s what we do consistently.
Consistent efforts bring consistent results.
Not throwing the towel (boxing game rule) in between is the key. We all have made certain sacrifices in our lives, but very few are able to maintain the consistency. Consistency means remaining focused despite deviations, distractions, obstacles, failures, or criticism.
“It is consistency which transforms average into excellence.”
Flexibility: Commitment and flexibility might sound contradictory here but let me explain this. To fulfill the commitment a person must be fixated towards the goal, but flexible in approach. The problem comes when it is the other way around. When you are fixated in your approach, but flexible in goals. A committed person will be willing to let go of his ego and be willing to change the methodology to get desired results. They will be willing to change their approach, rather than lose sight of the goal. “Be fixated towards your goals but flexible in your approach”.
Patience: Patience is a human virtue. Animals have tolerance but only humans can claim patience. Sometimes you need patience to deal with circumstances that are beyond your control. These are your "life hassles." Something as trivial as getting stuck in a traffic line, for instance, or waiting for a computer program to load.
Patience is a maturity to show what to control and what to let go. Patience is the ability to stay calm while you are waiting for an outcome that you need or want. It is having learnt what is worth your time. In general, being patient means that you're more likely viewed positively by your co-workers and managers (and your family and friends). You'll likely be a better team worker, and more focused and productive.
You may consider some people to be slow learners, hard to understand, or even downright unreasonable. Or, they may have bad habits that drive you crazy. But losing your patience with them will be of no benefit, and it may make matters worse.
Patience and understanding towards others is essential when you're onboarding new staff, or when you're delegating tasks. It's also a huge help in dealing with difficult co-workers or managers, and it's central to high-quality customer service. Dashrath Manjhi worked for 22 years alone to make that road. Similarly there is an Indian Forest Man- Jadhav Payeng, who kept working patiently for more than 3 decades and is still working to cultivate a whole forest on a barren land.
Life of Jadhav Payeng is a fantastic example of human will & commitment. Jadav "Molai" Payeng (born 1963) is an environmental activist and forestry worker from Majuli, popularly known as the Forest Man of India. Over the course of several decades, he has planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra turning it into a forest reserve. The forest, called Molai forest after him is located near Kokilamukh of Jorhat, Assam, India and encompasses an area of about 1,360 acres / 550 hectares. In 2015, he was honoured with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India. He was born in the indigenous Mising tribe of Assam. I would recommend that you search for him on Youtube and get inspiration from such a simple but committed person.
Answer these simple questions to know how committed you are:
1. Are you doing your best you can?
2. Are they one-time effort or continuous?
3. Do you feel fulfilling while making these adjustments, efforts, or sacrifices?
4. Are you focused on your goal? Are you able to manage distractions and temptations?
I think if we honestly answer the above questions, we will have absolute clarity about our commitment levels. Think about it.
“When confronted with a challenge, the committed heart search for a solution. The undecided heart searches for an escape.”
- Andy Andrews
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