What does it mean to be committed? The definition of commit is to carry into action deliberately.
Believe it or not, there are several things that we are committed to doing to ourselves and others on a daily basis, and we don’t even realize it.
On the positive or conscious side of commitment, we could be committed to changing our lives for the better, committed to educating ourselves for that next adventure in our lives, committed to eating better, losing weight and getting healthy, or committed to creating that business we always wanted, living our life’s purpose.
On the negative or unconscious side of commitment, you could be committed to constant negative thoughts and self-talk and wondering why your life has turned out this way, you could be committed to destroying that beautiful temple we call a body by doing drugs, alcohol, smoking or all of the above even, or you could be committed to abusing others physically, emotionally, or verbally.
Either way, positive or negative, consciously or unconsciously, however you want to slice it; we are all committed to doing something in our lives daily. And if you really think about it, wherever most of your emotion and attention is, is the thing you are most committed to in your life at the present time…where attention goes, energy flows, which means your commitment.
So a question to ask would be, “What are you carrying into action deliberately on a daily basis, and maybe, unwittingly so?” I say this because it is a habit you may be unconsciously aware you are doing? If you are unsure what I mean by this…reflect. Where are your thoughts throughout the day? Are they positive or negative? How aware are you of your thoughts throughout the day? Do you make a deliberate effort to be aware of your thoughts? Having a conscious awareness of your thoughts daily will reveal what you have been committing to without even realizing it. Let me explain.
Apparently, our subconscious mind is quite powerful. According to Napolean Hill in Think and Grow Rich, “There are seven major positive emotions (desire, faith, love, sex, enthusiasm, romance and hope), and seven major negative emotions (fear, jealousy, hatred, revenge, greed, superstition and anger). The negative emotions voluntarily inject themselves into the thought impulses, which insure passage into the subconscious mind. The positive must be injected, through the principle of auto-suggestion (self-suggestion whether positive or negative associated with emotion), into the thought impulses which an individual wishes to pass on to the subconscious mind.”
This is powerful because positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind simultaneously. One of the first success principles in Jack Canfield’s book, The Success Principles, is taking 100% responsibility for your life, and this includes what we are feeding our minds with (fear or love, good or bad, positive or negative). It is our individual responsibility that we form the habit in ensuring positive emotions dominate and influence our minds. He also states, “By continually talking about, thinking about, and writing about the way things are, you are continually reinforcing those very same neural pathways in your brain that got you to where you are today. And you are continually sending out the same vibrations that will keep attracting the same people and circumstances that you have already created.”
Obviously, this is a constant work in progress, but it does become easier as you form the habit. Which brings me back to my point of how committed are you because this takes work; however, most people don’t want to put in the work to get what they want. Their focus is usually on what it is they want and the lack of it, complaining about it, and how they are feeling about it. You see where I’m going with this, right?
If you think about it, we only have control over three things in our lives…our thoughts, images, and actions (our behavior or how we react to or let situations and circumstances affect us), so why not make the most of these and stop wasting time and energy on the things we can’t control. I like to refer to this as taking back my power, because then I am not letting outside circumstances control me. I am simply placing these issues back on the situation and letting it go. But, trust me when I tell you, I am still working on this one and will be for a long time; nonetheless, I am getting faster at recognizing it before I waste too much time and energy on it. Letting go can be the hardest thing in the world to do sometimes;-).
So, in conclusion, are you committed…to changing your life, becoming aware of your thoughts, the way you think, act and feel? Think about where you are in life and where your thoughts are (positive or negative, conscious or unconscious) daily and be kind to yourself if you recognize that they are more negative than positive? It’s okay because you are now here committing to making your life full of purpose.
I would love to hear your thoughts. What is one goal (and I mean just one), intention, space you want to commit yourself to achieving in life?