Why We Got Commitment Wrong (and What It Really Means)

Persistent commitment is the key to real results

It’s 10:53 p.m. on an average Thursday. I have 2 tests and 2 other deadlines next week. Oh, and I just joined a writing challenge.

A sneaky part of my brain is thinking, you’re procrastinating — starting another project because you don’t want to finish the others.

A valid perspective — some people don’t want to commit to another goal until they finish their current ones.

“It’s distracting,” they say.

But I’d like to think this case is a little different.

I understand that I might sacrifice the tests and deadlines.

I choose to focus on my big-picture priorities — which include writing.

At the end of the day, this writing project is more important to me than a random test at university. So yes, I’ll deal with the potential grade drop.

Follow Your Priorities

The alternative: something comes up and your writing routine falls apart.

This article is for the writers who always drop writing first when life gets too busy — because I used to be that person.

I used to write only during semester breaks — when school resumed, I stopped.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t expect big results from haphazard actions.

Re-prioritise your goals.

Keep #1 on top, even when #2 seems more urgent.

Understand that anything below #1 may be sacrificed. Be okay with that.

Persistent Commitment — The Type of Commitment That Leads to Results

Now that you’ve set your priorities, it’s time to rethink your commitment.

Many people treat commitment as a one-off thing.

A big initial declaration of a goal: “I’m going to run 5 miles every day.” Or, “I’m going to publish an article every week.”

But the declaration is just step one.

Most people stop at the declaration. They stop when it gets hard to show up (when life gets in the way, when they don’t feel like it, etc.

What we really need is ‘persistent commitment’ — a constant process of showing up (re-commiting) every day.

Persistent commitment is the daily declaration that you will progress toward your goals.

Persistent commitment to your #1 priority is the key to real results.

Conclusion

This is my 180th article, but it’s also Article 1 of 66.

I’m committing to the 66-Write challenge by Eve Arnold — despite other projects.

Because this project is my #1 priority. Because this project is more fulfilling to me than other projects. (So, I’m okay with sacrificing the rest if I have to.)

This will be my longest writing challenge yet (my longest daily publishing streak was 27). Here’s the deal:

This is what some may call my ‘pledge post’, but it’s not the end of my commitment.

Commitment isn’t just for day one — ideally, it’ll happen every day from today, for 66 days straight.

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