Commitment Is It's Own Reward

Thirty days of writing a blog post series ends with the topic of commitment. I am truly humbled to make it to the finish line. There were a lot of obstacles such as weekends, Thanksgiving break, not feeling well, and mental blocks on what to write about. On a couple of occasions, I had this nagging voice saying “you gave it your best shot, so what if you miss a day.” I am glad that I didn’t listen to that advice.

They say it takes 30 days to form a habit. I am not looking to write a blog post every day as that habit, but I am looking to be consistently writing going forward. I couldn’t have made it through without the commitment of others helping me out. My wife was instrumental in coming along side in another 30 day commitment that was the catalyst for my writing. I got an outline of what I wanted to write about from John Maxwell’s living intentional journey. Without that I surely would have struggled mightily. Also, there was encouragement from my family, friends, and peers, which is who I have written these posts for.

True commitment is not about self

One of the biggest lessons I have learned about commitment is that it extremely difficult to follow through if the results are self-oriented and shallow. Here is what I do know:

• Commitment can only be successful if the end vision is known. Do you know where you want to be as a result of your commitment?
• The best commitment stretches you. I am committed till “death do us part” to my wife. She will be the first to say that the past 20+ years have stretched both of us. But we are focused on the core belief that we are committed to each other’s best interest. We are truly ONE couple who is sharing a lifetime commitment to better each other and our children.
• When you base your commitment on helping others, you are more inclined to follow through. Call it human nature, but we surely don’t want to let anyone down when we have given our word, time, and energy to help them succeed. Also, when you look at the finish of the commitment, didn’t you grow also?
• Commitment involves the support of others. Be smart and share what you are going to accomplish with others. Accountability creates productivity, which creates results. Others can encourage you to achieve greatness and pick you up when the effort seems most daunting.

I hope you have enjoyed the last 30 days of blog posts on intentional living. They really have been a blessing for me to write them. Now on to the next commitment.