It’s a New Year! A clean slate. An opportunity to make changes from the year before. One of the things that has become very obvious to me in my life is that changes are much more likely to happen when you commit to them. Hope is not a great strategy for change. You can hope to lose weight. You can hope to make more money. You can hope for a new job. You can hope for a better relationship. A positive attitude is certainly beneficial. But hope alone doesn’t get you very far. There’s a major difference between a want or desire and an actual commitment. You can want something really badly, but unless you commit to it, it’s unlikely to happen.
I didn’t just want to become a doctor someday, I committed to it. I made a plan. I took the required courses in college. I worked hard in them to achieve good grades. I studied for and took the MCAT exam. If I didn’t pass, I would have taken it again. I applied to several schools. I wrote many essays. I went on several interviews to medical schools and worked hard when I finally got there. I delayed a lot of gratification. I lost time, money, and sleep to reach my goal. I was committed and nothing would stand in my way.
I wanted to get married, but life was very busy in medical school. My desire was strong, so I committed to dating. I made a plan. I would date a lot. I would be open minded. If by date 3 I knew he wasn’t the one, I would move on. I wouldn’t wallow in emotion or waste precious time. I put myself out there. I went out of my comfort zone. I went to many social events, even when I was tired. I went online, even when that felt uncomfortable. I went on blind dates. I went on lots of dates. Some were okay, many not so great, a few downright awful. It felt like a second job at times. But I kept going. I was blessed to meet my husband during this time. Some people might call this luck. I believe that by making a plan and committing, I significantly increased my chances of success.
We all have examples of this in our lives. Goals that we committed to that we were able to achieve. Think about your goals. Write them down. There’s something very powerful about putting pen to paper (or finger to keypad) and seeing that goal in writing. One goal I have for this blog is to be consistent. I want to post once a week, preferably on Sunday. If it happens to be more, great, but I am committing to a weekly post. I know that consistency is key for growth and I want to see this blog grow with time. I also want to hold myself accountable because I believe strongly in the purpose of what I’m doing here. If I can commit to spend time on my thoughts regularly, I believe my life will change for the better. I believe I will change for the better. Ultimately, that is why I’m here, to live each day better than the one before.
What will you commit to this year?
