I wrote a post this summer called “Quitting, now I understand why people do it.” The idea behind the post was that it can be overwhelming to do all of the things that one has to do to change a life. There is the other side of the coin though that I would like to talk about it: Commitment.
It’s painful to admit but I have a long list of important things that I quit or didn’t commit to. Let’s share. Fun!!
- Quit exercising (hard) when I gained weight.
- Quit looking for jobs when I wanted to leave my job-more than once during the Recession. WIll give myself a break on this one….*
- Quit studying Spanish as much as I should have
- Quit blogging a couple of times before this blog
- Quit online dating (really hate it) and just trying to date in general
I don’t want to give you the idea that I don’t commit to things, but to show that I’m just as human as the next person. Every time I quit I had an option to quit-for good (never try again) or, dust myself off and try again. Luckily for me I kept trying. In trying over and over again I show my commitment to the goals that I’m trying to attain.
- I’m exercising again and I have begun waking up at 5 pm to make it happen. I am NOT a morning person, but I am 100% committed to my health.
- I have become honest with myself about the fact that I want to work for myself (virtual) and have begun working on a business plan and budget. I am happier in my job as certain toxic situations have resolved themselves. I am creating a vision for myself and being honest about the fact that I’m scared but excited to try working for myself.
- I have started studying Spanish again and have scheduled Spanish study into my week. I have begun to help people at work-on the PHONE!! which is really hard to do. My bilingual colleague said that I was doing great and didn’t need his help. Win!
- I am now in love with blogging-even though it takes up A LOT of time. I love the people that I’ve connected with, I love getting my thoughts out there in a way that’s productive, I love building up something that I have complete control over-I make or break my blogging life.
- I’ve begun putting my toe back in the dating water. I have also set an intention regarding what I want for myself in a relationship. You can check out a previous post on that here: Setting an intention, saving for something that isn’t even a glimmer in my eye. I will be doing any and everything that feels comfortable and fun to meet guys. I’m going speed dating on Saturday and think it will be a lot of fun!
Commitment feels like a four letter word because it’s so hard to do. Commitment is really irritating on days when you just don’t feel up to it. When you commit you have to push through the pain, irritation, and annoyance so that you can meet your goals.
In order to effectively commit you need to have the following:
- Clarity of purpose-If you’re not clear on my you’re trying to do what you’ve set out to do you will probably quit when the first road block appears
- Passion-With clarity comes passion. You have to be passionate almost all of the time when working towards your end goal.
- Energy-I was physically and mentally tired when trying to achieve goals in the past 4 years. The Recession wore me out, partly due to the stress that I’d already experienced after 9-11. I needed to recoup my energy before trying anything big.
- Time-I didn’t have a lot of time to devote to my goals because I was commuting over 10 hours a week and working around 60 hours a week. Now I have the same commuting time but am almost always free during the weekends. I am using this extra time to work towards my goals.
- Supporters-there were a number of times when my mom was my only supporter. A supporter of one is better than none but it’s always better when you have more. Blogging has grown my support circle and has given me the confidence to talk to my close friends about the things I want for myself. They were always in my corner-I just didn’t communicate as much as I should have with them about what was important to me.
- Time Frame (Schedule)-Before I would set goals and then would feel like I failed but I hadn’t set a framework of measurable goals.
- Willingness to push past your comfort zone-I am embarrassed to say that this was perhaps the area that I was weakest in. I have pushed past my comfort zone before in a number of different ways. But, I think you lose the mental “muscle” memory when you don’t push yourself for long periods of time
I’m wishing you good luck with your goals and encourage you to think about what is keeping you from success in your life.
Latest posts by Michelle (see all)
- How Work Policies Against Black Women Birthed a Love of the Soft Life - 20 March, 2024
- How Taylor Swift’s IP Victory Could Change the Business of Music - 28 February, 2024
- Why Don’t More Personal Finance Content Creators Talk About Policy - 16 January, 2024
Great article Michelle! I have quite and started and quit and re-started so many things, so many times. I think it’s just about never giving up on yourself and making progress and bettering yourself. You have such great vision about your future. Love it!
Thanks Tonya, currently I’m dealing with committing to my exercise plan. I’ve totally fallen off the wagon-not good! I have to try again. Sigh.
I think most people go through phases in their lives when they want to quit something, not necessarily forever, but “to take a break”. I’m definitely one of those people. It’s great that you have scheduled time for Spanish and other things that you want to do again. I am certain we can accomplish anything we set our minds to 😉
I annoy myself sometimes when a break becomes a year or two years. In general, I’m pretty good at committing to things that are important to me but the last 4-5 years have been a hot mess. I have really struggled and I am so glad that I have been able to refocus and feel a lot more energized and ready to kick some a@@.