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I wrote a post on Facebook about commitment and stated that commitment is the ability to keep hanging in there long after the “mood” to do so has gone. My post got me thinking a little more about it. Why does one person succeed and another not? Often, it has everything to do with commitment. Long after everyone else has given up or gone onto other things, the committed person keeps going and hangs in there.

This idea of commitment seems hard to find these days. In many ways, our lifestyles have spoiled us. Our high emphasis on leisure and fun have blurred our perspective a bit. We want it quick and we want it easy. We don’t particularly like hard work and if looks like it is going to have some pain associated with it, well maybe not! “Oh well, probably not meant to be”! Having this mindset or way of excusing oneself keeps us from jumping in wholeheartedly to commit. So, we dabble, we play at it. We put our toe in but that is it. When it doesn’t work out quickly enough, it gets tough and we are on to something else. Here is the problem. How do you build anything of significance if you keep moving around from thing to thing? You don’t!

Peak performers, star athletes and musicians will tell you that there is no substitute for hard work and practice. No short cuts. Even when they don’t feel like it. They don’t allow their feelings to dictate how things are going to go. But with each day and each practice and every step of persistence and consistency, eventually mastery of the skill or talent occurs and goals are achieved.

It would be so much easier if there were some shortcuts, but from my experience there are none. It takes hard work, dedication, and commitment; whether it is getting in shape to having a successful business. It takes hanging in there long after the “glamour” has faded away. For those who are willing to go the distance and not dabble, the rewards are not only great but the outcome is often nothing short of amazing. I am in. How about you?