“Commitment is an act, not a word.” Jean-Paul Sartre.

Commitment is a choice and we have to be fully committed to a goal or action point if we’re to achieve what we set out to do.

There is a key question that I ask clients when they are setting goals or action plans. I ask them on a scale of 0-10 (10 being high) how committed they are to the goal/action plan.

If I don’t get a 10 out of 10 response, then I ask the client what they need to do in order to give it a score of 10. This may involve them resolving some inner doubt that they have. It could be that they rearrange their daily schedule. If they aren’t really committing to taking action, I would suggest they drop the action point altogether and come up with something different.

Additionally, I also challenge their commitment when they use the word try to describe their planned action steps. On the theme of try, there’s a great quote from Yoda in Star Wars which I love. It’s simple but is full of wisdom about commitment.

He said: “Do or do not. There is no try.”

The word try always denotes a lack of full belief in something and indicates a small element of doubt. It provides us with the chance to talk ourselves out of something and gives us room for manoeuvre. It gives us a potential cop out and an excuse not to do something.

For example, have you ever been arranged a party, meeting or function and phoned someone to ask if they would like to come along? Someone who is committed says immediately, “Count me in. I would love to be there.”

A person who isn’t sure if they want to come along will say something along the lines of “I’ll try and make it.” Do they ever turn up to the function or party? You probably will have found that they don’t. They weren’t committed to attend. They were just too polite to say no when you asked them.

It’s vitally important to appreciate that whilst goals and dreams have a very valuable role to play in life, they are only as good as your personal drive and commitment to achieve them and make them a reality.

William Hutchison Murray was a Scottish mountaineer and writer, one of a group of active mountain climbers before and just after World War II.

He wrote the following passage and I’ve personally found it useful. It inspires me to stay committed to goals and projects:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, and then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way.

I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!”

If you catch yourself using the word try in life (particularly in relation to goal achievement) use it as a warning that you aren’t totally committed to something.

It could be that you’re not confident that you’re going to act upon what you’re thinking of doing. It could indicate that you have some doubts or mental obstacles that you need to overcome.

When it comes to goal setting, it’s vitally important to give yourself the best possible chance of success by committing to something fully or not at all. When you adopt this approach you will save yourself a lot of time and energy by not pondering whether to stay committed or to quit.

This week, why not take a few moments to reflect and consider if there is a goal where you need to increase your commitment. If so, decide what action you need to take. Alternatively, if you can’t fully commit decide if you need to let it go to make space for something else.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk