When You Put It That Way
“The level of your commitment is how quickly you return to it.” — Anonymous
Much as I hate to admit it, I am someone who evaluates accomplishment in degrees. For example, to call myself a runner it’s not enough to run in the local 5K race for charity. A “real” runner, runs daily and competes in marathons.
All kinds of characteristics are subject to this type of evaluation. Being a writer only counts if you’ve been published. Baked goods are only legit if they are made from scratch. You get the idea. For every activity there is a bar, and quite often, I have to be on my tippy toes to reach it.
True, I’ve been accused of holding myself to a rather high standard. In fact, it may be that element in my nature that has caused me to admire people who appear to be “all in” for something. Sure they might be a little lopsided in how they spend their time, but they are clearly committed.
While I hold those who demonstrate such explicit devotion in esteem, I recognize commitment is at times involuntary perhaps even unconscious. Therefore, the pace (and even the consistency) with which we return to something can be another measure of our commitment.
Kind of like identifying our priorities through a rearview mirror. Instead of proactively listing them, we can get a more accurate appraisal of what’s important to us by looking backwards and seeing how we actually spend our time.
The silent implication of our commitment being a function of the rate at which we return to something is that we will all fall away from our daily disciplines now and again.
Fitness regimes come to mind. Cough.
New Years’ resolutions, spiritual practices, creative endeavors…all the actions in life that require discipline to attain or maintain are same ones that are the most troublesome for us to be consistent with.
Ask me to meditate for 20 minutes each day, and I tend to struggle.
Ask me to eat chocolate everyday and mind your fingers.
Nonetheless, we do come back to the things we are committed to…like meditation…even if sometimes it’s after we finish eating a brownie.
