“If you don’t make a total commitment to whatever you’re doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking. It’s tough enough getting that boat to shore with everybody rowing, let alone when a guy stand up and starts putting his life jacket on.” - Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz is the well-known football coach, and he’s talking about teamwork, and the importance of commitment to the team. The analogy he uses is great because it’s so visual – and you can see how one person’s lack of commitment affects those around him.
Think about the commitment our ancestors made when coming to this country. Can you imagine the courage it took to leave home for somewhere, something unknown – the possibility of something better? Once they set out in that “boat” there was no turning back. If we could only have that courage, that commitment, in our own lives to just “go for it!” Yes, there are risks – that comes with the territory, but like another saying goes: “no risks, no rewards!”
“I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.” -Vincent van Gogh
Are we committed to living life to its fullest? What does that mean to each one of us personally? How does that show up in our daily routines? I think what van Gogh was saying was that commitment has to be whole-hearted. Whatever it is, whether it’s a friendship, a career, a marriage, or our spiritual pursuits – if we’re in it with all our heart, then we’re demonstrating the importance that it has in our lives. And whatever it is, will grow and bloom and thrive with our commitment to it.
““Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” - Swami Sivananda
Commitment is 100%. You can’t hedge a little and say that you are committed. Your actions speak for themselves. Commitment is tied to so many other good things, like integrity – you say you will do something and then you do it, that’s integrity, that’s living up to your commitment. Commitment brings achievement, and success.
“One’s lifework, I have learned, grows with the working and the living. Do it as if your life depended on it, and the first thing you know, you’ll have made a life out of it. A good life, too.” - Theresa Helburn
Lifework. Isn’t all of life work at times?! Commitment does take work, but because we get so much out of what we put into it, it becomes a pleasure. Our relationships need attention, and the ones that get it help us to grow. Our lives are built on our commitments – to ourselves, our relationships, our work, and our communities.
