It’s a daunting word, commitment. I’ve made only a few big commitments in my life. The 365 Commitment 2019 is one of them. In 2018 I was not willing to part with the parts of my personality that wanted it all. I wanted to change, yet I wanted to stay the same. Didn’t work.
Guy is right. It takes more than willpower. Yesterday he wrote about employing the power of habit which draws upon the sub-conscious, and the underlying machinations of the body itself, to carry us past the limitations of our mind and our limited willpower. I agree, good strategy, very compelling. We’ve talked about other good ones too. Avoiding the shame of public failure? OK, I’m in, let’s do it. Striving to be your best self? Very appealing, I’m in. Exhausting the powerful but limited tool of will power? Yes, that seems to be needed as well. But, for me, there still remains the “why.” Why am I doing this? What for?
A serious commitment means “burning the boats.” Not leaving yourself an option. The conquistador Cortez landed on the shores of what is now Mexico. He knew his relatively small contingent of men would want to return as they faced the massing Aztec armies. So he burned the boats. They had no way back to Spain, and no choice to succeed or die, the only option was to commit to battle in order to survive.
Competition can be motivating. But, beating others doesn’t really drive me personally. I enjoy competition and can get really into it! I love the joy of the game, and driving myself (ourselves) to the edge of ability is thrilling, I do enjoy that. It’s cool, and useful in a raises all boats kind of way, but it’s not my “why.”
It’s not to prove myself either. Prove myself to who? I doubt the source of all consciousness would be very impressed with even the very best I could do.
My “why” is to act in a way that honors the life I have been given, to honor the lives of those who depend upon me, to take myself seriously, to make a gesture that honors and taps into the sacred. My why is a deeply meaningful feeling that transcends merely improving my circumstance. An integrity of the soul, the right thing to do, kind of “why.” It’s a commitment to honoring the highest good that is motivating me, a worth dying for kind of “why.”
What cause will you burn the boats back to your old self for? We often hear people use the phrase, “that’s not a hill I’m willing to die on.” Well, I wonder, what is the hill you are willing to die on? What parts of yourself are you willing to let go of in order to succeed in your 365 Commitment? What is your “why”?
Ben Wagner (19)
Member 365 Commitment
#Lighting the Match!