When I was 25 years old, I was on a business trip with a large group and I had a team of 15 people with me. We were all sitting around one afternoon, complaining about things in our businesses. The chatter was mainly about others in our organization: "He doesn't want to give me information," "She's always doing this or that," "They Never...".
In the group that day was a salesperson that was doing very well with his business. I had often wished he was my sales manager. At one point, I turned to him and said, "If I just had someone like you, then I'd be doing great."
I had hoped he would sympathize with me or at least give me some ideas or tips. He didn't. Instead, he looked straight at me and said, "Honestly, complaining isn't ever going to change it. Complaining isn't going to change your outcome. If you don't like your leader, if they don't get you the information you need, then move up to a position where you have all of this information yourself. And if you're so unhappy that it's making you THIS miserable, then get out. Maybe this isn't for you."
Wow! At first, those words hit me right between the eyes!
But then, I really thought about what he was saying. I took those words home with me and had a heart-to-heart talk with myself. After I thought about it, I realized he was spot on. I said to myself, “I do love this business. I am going to move up the ranks. I am going to become the leader I wish I had.”
The message was clear and honest - “Move up, shut up, or get out, but stop complaining.”
Instead of being offended, I got to work.
Those words have always stayed with me. What he helped to instill in me that day was commitment, and that changed my business success forever.
What is Commitment?
Commitment is about actions, not words. It’s about either doing or not doing something. It means saying what you're going to do, and doing it. It means respecting your relationship with yourself, and with others, enough to follow through with what you have promised. It’s when you stick with something for the long term, instead of giving up because you didn’t get instant gratification. It’s about knowing that immediate results are not going to happen often, but when you stay committed, you will get results. It’s about knowing you may have to wait and still working toward it every day anyway.
Why Don’t We Stay Committed?
That sounds all well and good, but even with the best of intentions, our commitment gets tested often.
Your boss yelled at you, so you decide to forget about the healthy lunch you had planned and you eat fast food instead. Your first sales call of the day went badly, so you decide you're not going to make any more calls today. Your children drove you crazy while getting them out the door for school, so you decide not to go to the gym, and you stay at home to watch tv and drink coffee instead.
It’s easy to react to an event or circumstance and allow it to persuade you to choose things other than the conscious commitment you've made to yourself or others. But commitment is about YOU being the chooser. It’s about making the choice between letting things happen and making things happen. That choice is always yours to make.
How to Stay Committed
While it’s easy for things to get in the way of your commitments, there are things you can actively do to ensure their success. Here are three.
Commitment begins with a goal or a vision. Without a vision, we don't know what we're working toward. How can we keep a commitment if we don't even know where we're going? Get clear on where you are going and why you want to go there and just keep taking steps in that direction.
Don’t let other people rob you of your commitment. There is no benefit to hanging around people who try to interfere with what you’re committed to doing. Do an inventory of the people you're around on a regular basis. Identify the nay-sayers, the time-wasters, and the negative nellies. Also identify the supporters, the motivators, and the people who always seem to have your back and give you space when you need it. Become more aware of how you feel when you are around different people and make choices to spend more time with the people who respect and cheer-on your commitments.
Celebrate the small victories. All too often, we are so focused on the “big picture” goals that we don’t acknowledge all of the “wins” that are happening on a daily basis. If you want to stay consistent and committed, you have to celebrate the little things happening that get you there. It could be making that one phone call, shooting and posting a short video for your social media account, or making yourself do something even though you didn’t feel like doing it and almost blew it off. Little things done consistently are what create all big things!
Those words spoken to me all those years ago still resonate today. I have applied them on a daily basis and that’s why I have continuously found my own success. I now pass those words onto you - if you want to succeed, the secret is don’t complain, commit.
By the way, I have a lot more to share with you about commitment. Click HERE to learn more on this “Tuesday Tip” episode of my Work From Your Happy Place podcast.
XOXO!
Belinda