“Most people are dabblers. They know they shouldn’t drink soda so they dip their toe in the waters of improvement. Drinking five soft drinks per day instead of six. If things go well with that, maybe they’ll whittle down to 4.5 in six months. Unless it’s a holiday, someone’s birthday, the weekend, or they just really want it. This is not commitment. This is someone posturing like they’re “trying” without the gumption to go all in. If you’re serious about upgrading your Mind, Body, Business, and Relationships… you can’t afford to dabble. You have to truly commit.”
10 months, nearly $80,000, one challenge after another, one day after another, one week after another. Ran out of money, borrowed more, did that again and again. Ran into problems, solved them. Rinse. Repeat. Over and over and over and over.
And today, we closed on the sale of the property that I just spent 9 months remodeling.
When all the dust has settled, we will have lost over $30,000.
But did we really waste that money? I actually believe it was money well spent. Yes, it was more than I spent for my college education back in the 90’s. But what did I learn? Aside from learning multiple skills, from how to lay floors, how to paint, how to install faucets & toilets, I learned how to manage a project and how to manage contractors.
More than all of that, I learned how to commit to a goal and stick to it.
No. Matter. What.
Even today at the closing table, as my husband and I were in the middle of signing, I received a text from the buyer’s agent that the buyers were unsure about showing up to close. I called her and addressed their concerns one by one. They ended up coming and signing about 30 minutes later.
It seemed every step of this project was wrought with challenges. But I committed at the beginning to see it through, and I did.
Like many commitments, I honestly didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Probably a good thing. Every time something knocked me down, even if I had to take a timeout to cry a little, I regrouped and came back to keep pushing through.
In my experience, the more one keeps one long-term commitment, the easier it is to keep commitments in other areas of life as well. In relationships, in business, in personal health and spiritual goals. It forges grit. It makes you increasingly a person of your word.
Flex that commitment muscle!