Commit to Something Today! You’ll Be Glad You Did.
Last February, I spent a few weeks on my back with a herniated disk and pinched nerves in my neck. (Yes, it hurt). One of the worst parts of spending time in bed was missing my daily indulgence of visiting Starbuck’s for my coffee in the morning. One morning, my amazing wife brought me home a nice, hot Starbucks mocha. I usually don’t look to my coffee cup for inspiration, but laid up and having not much else to do, I started reading “The Way I See It” on the side of the cup. I really liked the quote, but, in a Vicodin-Espresso induced haze, I lost track of the cup and forgot the quote. Well, here I am over a year later sitting in Starbuck’s sipping a mocha and what do you know, I got the same cup. Well, not the very same cup, that would be kind of gross, but I think you get what I mean. I thought, hmmm, maybe karma is telling me something. Here’s what my cup said:
“The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.” – Anne Morriss
Well, I’d have to say I’m glad I found this cup again and I’m glad I found it now. I’ve been very non-committed to writing my blog in the past few weeks. Things have been swirling around in my professional and personal life and I just couldn’t focus. My blogging and Tweeting had been taking too much time away from my personal life. So, I stopped really putting my all into my blog. In fact, I stopped writing all together for almost a month. Then I realized I missed it. Somehow, I needed to commit to a better balance between my real life and my “online life”. So, that’s commitment number one: I’ll continue to blog and Twitter but with a much greater respect for my personal time. It’s a commitment to those that I love and a commitment to all of you who read my blog (and yes, I love all of you too, but in a different way). OK, got that out of the way and I’m feeling good. I’m breathing again!
But more than that, this cup really woke me up (and not just from the double espresso) to my growing desire to write a book “one of these days“. I’ve had this idea in my mind for a book about the power of collaboration and it’s impact on innovation in successful organizations for some time and I’ve kept putting it off for a variety of “really good” reasons. Hmmm, can you say internal critic and fear? Apparently I can’t, so I did what Anne Morriss said, and I dressed it up as rational hesitation. I had a million excuses why I couldn’t start writing it. Well, I think I’m going to go out on a limb here and free myself by finally, openly committing to writing this book that I’ve had inside me for a long time. Aaaah, I feel better already. Two big commitments and I didn’t die, I didn’t implode, I’m still here. And because I believe deeply in commitment, I feel deeply liberated by openly making these commitments. Wow, what a great feeling!
So, what’s holding you back from doing something you’re passionate about? Maybe today is your day too. Maybe you just need to make a commitment and go for it. I promise, it won’t hurt (unless you’re committing to finally getting that tattoo you’ve always dreamed of). Go ahead and make your commitment right here for everyone else to read. Tell us what you’re passionate about and what you’re going to commit to.
What a great post inspired by a wonderful quote. It is indeed very true as I have experienced the liberation that comes from making a commitment. But it ended there. I was reminded of this experience reading the quote, and your blog post. I’m inspired to apply this rediscovered knowledge, but there are far too many “one of these days” floating about in my head. I suppose I could commit to taking baby steps with a few, starting with the house and keeping it as clean & organized as two teens, two cats, and a dog will allow!
Great post Chris. The message is so true. All too often, amazing ideas that would greatly enhance your (and others’) life, simply fade to black and it’s a shame that such potential gets lost by the wayside. As for myself, I come up with zany ideas that would be totally cool if brought to life, but alas, my own inhibitions kill all motivation, and only fuzzy daydreams remain at the end of the day. I think we all owe it to OURSELVES to commit and just do it, no if’s but’s maybe’s.
Thanks for sharing! You’ve made my day.
To be honest, my passions are my hobbies; Work is work. If I decided to take one of my passions and make it my work, then it would be less interesting. I’m not saying I can’t align my passions with work, but I don’t want my hobbies, which I use to help me decompress, to become someting I hate.
I have a huge list of things I’d like to commit to; from getting out on my bike on a regular basis to finally getting numerous forever evolving website redesigns and new blog ideas online.
Perhaps my trouble is that I have too many things that I’d like to commit to. Can you have too many ideas? Making the first step to commit to just one is tricky simply because I don’t know where to start.
Perhaps you or fellow readers could advise, or point me in the right direction with a suitable URL.
Like Chris, the daunting task becomes prioritizing. Which thing(s) on my list do I decide to commit to? I want to learn how to use my camera, start playing the flute again, read a book, volunteer, redesign website A, B & C, start a garden, exercise, this, that, and the other!
Where to begin?
As I’ve been mulling this over (thanks for the thought food!), I do think baby steps is the way to approach this. At least for me. Maybe commit to taking one picture a day, reading one chapter a week, organizing one room in the house each month, etc. It seems more manageable this way.
Hi, I finally came across this post and really liked the quote. Time and time again we test ourselves and question if we can take that leap. I am lucky to find my calling. I am still green but I feel that I have gone through a lot. All my life I curse my lack of strength to do great things and save the world. I found coding. I have started working with nonprofits and other people. It is kind of ironic to see how software can really make people lives easier. Things are smoother. Nontech savy people actually enjoy having all the information at their fingertips allowing them to really focus on the important things. Better technology for the world to improve the quality of life. My commitment is create useful things and profit off it to change the world for good. I even thought out the steps – 1. create something that everybody needs everyday, 2. use money from profits to create inventions (i have a list lined up) 3. go to space one day
what i do now is something i am passionate now. this is something i do not regret and would be damn proud to tell my future generations what i did.
Chris,
We’re (I’m) looking forward to the release of your collaboration book. When will you have it ready to read?
As for prioritization of projects, I struggle with that also. One way I managed to get a list organized was to ask my wife which ones she wanted to see done first. Also, I asked my boss which work projects he wanted completed, in order of importance to him. Lastly, I looked at the creative ideas I had brewing in my noggin and started working on the most inspiring ones first. It’s an ever-growing list, though, so I am constantly re-prioritizing the lists.
Robert.
This is my first visit to your blog and the first posting I’ve read. I feel like somehow, with all my my click-through retweeting and follower browsing, this post found me.
i often get down on myself for all the ideas i’ve left unpursued. I’ve learned the only way to get something done is to just do it. i disagree with earlier comments… baby steps don’t work.
and congrats on keeping up a popular blog. that in and of itself is a big accomplishment.
Great picture & article–the picture caught my eye…I remember seeing the same quote and grabbing a pen to write it down a while back! Thanks for sharing!
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