What’s More Important than Doing the Work? Commitment to the Work
There are a few core things I believe in when you’re choosing to do something with intention and actively building a life that you want to live:
• Our true purpose is created through consistency, support and honesty
• Spending time doing what you want to do and doing things that fulfil you will reflect your mood and outlook in a positive way
• You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing just because you think that will work
• You will always be one of the most important people in your life even if you don’t realise it yet
Being intentional means being purposeful. And being purposeful means doing the work that is going to fill your life and take you one step closer to where you need to be. It’s about using your instincts, your gut feelings, developing your own way of working, and ultimately understanding yourself enough to know what you want. You know what you want to work on to improve yourself, your job, your blog - anything. That dream you've got or the goals you have. But what stops you? What makes you procrastinate? What holds you back?
Believing that this is the work you’re supposed to be doing, when you’re not committed to it.
If you want to get something done, you get it done, right? It’s like ticking things off a to-do list. But I’m talking about a big project. So let’s use an example.
Say you work full-time. You run a blog, which you love. Lately, you’ve been toying with the idea of turning it into a business. Everyone else is doing it, why can't you? You start trying to make it happen. But as time passes, you aren’t getting things done. You start to worry about everything you’re not doing. You become frustrated that you aren’t making as much progress as others. After going over and over it in your head, you soon realise that this isn’t actually what you want to do.
You’re not committed enough to do the work.
I’ve been there. I had this big business idea and tried to make it a reality, just like hundreds of other bloggers have done. At the time, I thought this was what I really wanted. I thought I wanted to have my own business and work on this subject every day of my life.
Turns out I didn’t. I was just so unsatisfied with my career that I was trying my hardest to change it.
I wasn’t committed enough to the work to get it done. Which also meant that deep down, it wasn't really what I wanted to do.
Commitment is a big thing. It's enough to have passion for something, and want to do it. But there's something people don't tell you when they're talking about setting goals. A piece of information they omit. People talking about completing goals all the time, right? The one ingredient that's missing, the one thing that stops you from achieving them is commitment.
If you want to get to where you want to be, achieve your goals and reach your full potential, be committed to it.
Why It Won’t Work If You’re Not Committed
You'll Let Other Things Take Over Your Mind
Becoming fully committed to something is scary. You have to give it your full attention. That's why it's described as committing to a relationship - some people don't know if they're ready for that. It's exactly the same when it comes to being intentional with your work. You have to focus your mind on it 100 per cent for it to be the best work you want it to be.
But usually, you'll find that if you aren't committed, other things will start to get in your way. You'll distract yourself, procrastinate and not get it done. You'll try to force it to work, only to become frustrated with yourself. That's where commitment is lacking.
Commitment is about not only recognising the struggle, but pushing through it.
You'll Get Stuck In The Comparison Trap - A Lot
A number of great bloggers out there have written about comparison in the blogosphere. This is a real problem. The industry is saturated. New blogs are popping up every day, but this time, instead of doing it for fun, the bloggers behind them are doing it for profit. And since people have started sharing their income on a monthly basis on their blogs, this makes the comparison trap even bigger to fall into. She makes way more money than me every month, I can't believe she's got that many email subscribers and I've hardly got any, why did my blog post not get any comments and that one did? And over and over, and more and more.
Of course, self doubt never truly disappears. But being committed to the work diminishes it by a great deal. Being committed means you know you're supposed to be doing what you're doing for a reason. You're focused. You know when you’re on the right track, because you put in dedication, determination, and you get the work done.
Will it get done?
There's a big difference in doing things because you have to and doing things because you want to. There's also a big difference in pushing yourself to achieve something because you want it more then anything (for the right reasons) and pushing yourself to achieve it because you think it's what you've got to do.
Ultimately, the question you need to ask yourself is, do you really want it? I asked my community a similar question to this in an email last week. Maybe you'll be able to tick a few things off your to do list without really wanting to do them, like answering emails and doing your taxes. But your mindset and attitude will be affected. Which in turn will affect the standard of your work.
A Final Note...
Without commitment, it doesn't mean the work isn't going to get done. It just means it won't be completed as strongly as it could be, as passionately as it could be. It's our purpose in life to create and live with intention, which means doing things with commitment. Would you spend your life doing something you didn't enjoy? And even so, would you let if affect your mind so much that your relationships with your loved ones suffer?
Think about how many aspects of your life require commitment. Now ask yourself, which ones are most important to you?
Then follow through with that commitment. They're obviously the things in life that mean the most to you.
Do you feel you're committed to all the work you do?