Commitment: The Missing Ingredient In Accomplishing Your Personal Success Goals

Ever set a personal success goal and not reach it? Most of us have. It’s not unusual for people to get stuck in an endless loop of getting excited, setting goals and then quitting them shortly afterward. In the end, not accomplishing anything at all.

Why does this happen? One of the biggest reasons is a lack of commitment to their personal success goal. It's been my experience that without commitment a goal will gradually shrink in importance compared to everyday events (family responsibilities, time with friends, the latest rush project, etc). The temptation to quit becomes more and more attractive, especially when Murphy's law intervenes to cause setbacks and delays.

On the other hand, if you make a serious commitment and then continually remind yourself of it, you’ll be much more likely to persevere and achieve the goal. Here’s how to make a commitment to your goals:

1) First and foremost, you have to make sure that every goal you set is of VITAL importance to you. This can be tricky because we so often fool ourselves into thinking we want one thing when we want something entirely different. Take some time with this part of the process, and be sure that you get to the heart of what you really want. Determine the who, what, why, where, and how of your goal. Who is going to benefit most form this accomplishment? What will it do for you? Why do you want it? What positive things will it bring to your life? Where will it help you? How will it make you feel when it’s accomplished? Write all of this down on an index card and keep it handy. Carry it with you and refer to if you feel your commitment beginning to slip. Also ask yourself if your goal is worth the effort and sacrifice that will be needed to achieve it. If you can honestly answer yes, you are on the way!

2) Think about what will happen if you don’t follow through. Would nothing much happen if you don’t achieve your goal? If not, then you raise the stakes! You have to make your goal the most important thing in the world, and if you don’t do it, you’ll deal with terrible consequences. Use your imagination and indulge in a bit of “make believe” in order to do this. For example, visualize the disappointment and lose of respect for yourself you'll experience if you don’t follow through. Use the carrot and stick approach; agree to give up something you love if you don’t make it happen – pick a reward to enjoy if you do.

3) Then, each and every day, renew your commitment. It’s easy to be committed when your goal is new and your motivation is high, but you need to be able to REMAIN committed! Each day when you awaken, read through the goal you wrote down on the first day, and review the reasons the personal success goal is vital to you. Promise yourself that you’re going to do as much as you can to work on your goal that day, and every day until you achieve it.

When it comes right down to it, no one can achieve your goals for you. If you want to achieve them, you’ll have to find the determination necessary to keep going. Inactivity and procrastination are usually nothing more than bad habits. Turning those habits into something more positive and productive is as simple as taking it a day at a time and working your hardest to change your life. The more committed and determined you are to making your goal happen, the more likely you’ll do just that.