When you commit to do something everyday, and then you actually do it everyday there is a consistent rhythm that develops. That everyday rhythm does something to you. I am not sure I really can explain it, but the process of actually keeping that commitment irons things out. Wrinkles in your life become smooth. What was once hard becomes easy, and now you find yourself dealing with new challenges. The everyday is powerful, it has a way of pounding the resistance out of you one day at a time until you are strong and willful.
Everyday is everyday. Weekends, Weekdays. Holidays and Birthdays. Tired days. Feel good days. Days when you travel. Days when you are on vacation. Everyday is exactly what it is. Everyday. An everyday commitment has tremendous meaning. It will produce results, goals will be realized, progress never achieved will materialize. Everyday is the commitment that will propel you forward with a deliberate slowness that actually produces extremely rapid progress.
The consistent rhythm can be enjoyable, relieving at times. It sort of removes the decision from you. You have to do it, no choice or decision required. The rhythm can also be relentless and demanding. A pressure that you may find yourself buckling under from time to time. I have tried many everyday commitments, there are a few things that I have learned along the way. The most important thing is that what you have decided to do everyday must have some characteristics. Here they are:
- The commitment has to be measurable. You have to know when you are done. A decent objective might be 15 minutes, or a specific amount. A target that you have to hit before you can finish for the day. This can be hard, probably easier with a physical exercise commitment. A spiritual, emotional, or financial goal might be a little more challenging, but if you think about it you can probably come up with a commitment that you can keep everyday that you know is “done” when it is done.
- The commitment has to be a small increment that is achievable. The worse thing that you can do is set the daily commitment at a level that you can actually do well. I do believe it should be easy. You will get more progress from doing something that you get done everyday then a commitment you only do a few times because you end up giving up. Overtime you will get better, more efficient. You will stop fighting just to remember do to it and it will become part of your daily life. When that happens, consider increasing the intensity by adjusting the measure.
- The commitment must be attached to a future vision of yourself. A goal, if you will, however a vision is attached to a future event that you can actually realize. A moment in time that you can picture when you know that you will have achieved the purpose of your everyday commitment. There are many motivational things you can pluck from your mind at critical moments – but this is the main one and the most important by far.
- Record the results of your daily commitment everyday. I actually wake every morning and record on a new sheet of a notebook the new number of that commitment that I achieved. I increment the number by one each day. As the number increases I get more and more committed. Tracking your results is vital. We tend to focus on what we measure. Cant get around that fact.
- Talk about your commitment frequently and often. You should let as many people know what you are committing to as you can. Maybe you will inspire others, great, but the reason for doing this is that you are building a army of supporters, cheerleaders and hecklers if you ever even think about failing!
- Be willing to adjust but not give up. There will come a time when the commitment will have served its purpose. The future vision perhaps. There may also be a time when you have to make an adjustment, perhaps when you fail. However, never use the adjustment requirement as an excuse for quitting. Adjust to achieve better results, do not use adjustment as an excuse.
With these six steps you are armed well to start an everyday commitment. You will need much more along the way to actually keep the commitment. This is where the Embrace the Suck and Ride at Dawn concepts have inspired me among others. Of course the first commitment, the 365 commitment, I have made a life time commitment to. I will do that everyday until my work on this planet is done.
Guy Reams
16 Days Left to 1st Marathon
