2017 – Purpose, Commitment & Accountability – Part 2

The “Leadership Evolution” is all about the process. I am very excited to be on this journey and to have you join me. Yesterday, we spent some time laying the foundation for some excellent thoughts about purpose, commitment, and accountability. I zeroed in on purpose which made us concentrate on our “why”. I hope you got some deep thinking done yesterday because today is going to lift you even higher. Where do you want to be and what are you willing to do to get there? It is important that we identify with the answers to that question as it feeds into our commitment and eventually our accountability. Let’s dive into commitment.

Commitment

As children, we are often given specific instructions about what to do and how to do it. We learn from our environment and because of this process of learning, we either develop a sense of neediness or the ability to get things done. A simple but relevant example of what I am talking about would take us back to the time I was a young boy going to primary school in Jamaica (in my time it was the Cascade All Age School). Those were fun times indeed with some oddities, but I survived them all. I decided to talk about my primary school days here to address the point of how our environment can affect the level of commitment we have in life. As a child, I had to walk more than 5 miles to school and back daily. I am sure at that time, I was never thinking about commitment, but this was one of the ways I believe that my desire to commit stemmed. Walking that far every day wasn’t really fun – unless you had a bunch of friends traveling with. However, the act of simply getting up every day with an eagerness to be in school – even though the distance was a challenge – gave me the chance to start building my commitment towards a successful life. I learned quickly to never give up. The desire to persevere was already built in at home, but I think every aspect of the journey was a building block.

The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment. ~ Tony Robbins

People may think that commitment starts when you get older, but that’s not the case. It is something that can become engraved on your DNA by your environment and circumstances. Most people who talk about commitment are merely suggesting we just follow a simple process and we will get there. However, I challenge that! True commitment grows on and inside of you. You can only learn commitment when you live your life with small pockets of triggers that give you the impetus to thrive. I cannot teach you commitment, in fact, there is no one out there who can teach someone to commit to something. You can be coerced to commit, but not taught. It must come from a deeper place. It must be coded on the thought process and the reciprocating actions we take. What I have come to understand is that commitment gets better with time.

If you are like me, I use to believe I have commitment issues. One moment, I would start something and then the next I would fall short. We get to the point of beating on ourselves and feel a sense of failure. Don’t you worry, it is part of the process of uncovering your commitment potential! Each time you have a breakdown provides an opportunity to start building again. The powerful outcome is coming and all you need is a bit of encouragement. I am sure you could share personal stories of what has gotten you where you are today. But, what about the ones that helped shaped your ability to commit. We all have those unique experiences that spoke to us along life’s journey. Now that you have heard this new way to tap into your commitment, how do you respond? You respond with action. We need to take some time to search for those commitment triggers and activate them daily. When you are ready, you will begin to recognize what Abraham Lincoln was trying to tell us:

Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.

To grow my commitment daily, I have made some important decisions about what I tell myself and what I do. I am constantly reminded that my thoughts direct my actions.

“A man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up his thoughts. He can only remain weak, and abject, and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts.” ~ James Allen.

Yes, we can gain commitment by spending the time in an environment – both in your mental and physical space – to develop the purpose we have set out to achieve. It is your time to follow your purpose through a solid commitment, but that commitment must be harnessed and released when needed. Today, ask yourself some critical questions:

1. How have I lived commitment?
2. What am I doing to ensure I stay committed? Is it coming from deep inside?
3. What have others noticed?
4. What will I do starting now to identify my commitment triggers to ensure I remain on top of things?
5. How can I work to add value to others through my commitment to the process?

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

Purpose, commitment, and accountability are essential to our success. We have focused on two, – purpose and commitment- tomorrow we put it all together when we apply accountability. Be blessed!

To be continued…

#Keep Doing Your Best Work!

RHOY