ARTICLE 6 - THE DIFFICULTIES OF IMPLEMENTING A COMMITMENT

Another inspiration from doing the DRP – 12 May 2009

DRP evokes unusual questions and views
I don’t know why it is this way but doing the DRP somehow brings out the really deep thoughts and hard-to-figure issues. I was doing the DRP the morning before when I was suddenly challenged with this question – “Why is it so difficult to pursue a commitment until its fruition?” I was looking for answers but could not find a clear-cut reason to explain away people’s failure to follow-through on promising beginnings until they succeed. It is all the more puzzling why people give up when they know that they can with some effort succeed really well in greaty promising ventures.

The thought of the hard work alone made turning back so easy
This morning I went for my run in the gym. When I first woke up and entertained the thought of going for an 8 km run on the tread-mill, my initial response was to skip it. After all, I had already run 8 km the morning before after doing my DRP. Thinking of the almost one hour of running that lay before me, I dreaded the thought. Anyway, I still reluctantly got up and made my way to the gym. As I started up my morning warm-ups, I just felt that the saner option was to sleep a bit longer.

Giving thanks with a grateful heart helped…..
Moving to the gym was probably what did the trick. Now that I was at its facilities, turning back would seem ludicrous. After what was a slow warm-up, I gingerly got on the machine and started walking. After the initial walk, I switched to running which would take me across the next 50 minutes. Reaching the 10 minute mark seemed to be like an eternity but I gave thanks to God for giving me health and strength. Each step that I took was a step in thanksgiving – I rejoiced because I could run with abandon and know that I could reach my benchmarks in my “health” destinations

The terrible difficulty of keeping commitments - The treadmill analogy
As the 10 minute mark passed, I felt the first wave of tiredness sweep over me. I slogged on and the thought came to me about the question that I had when I was doing my DRP the morning before. “Why is it so difficult to pursue a commitment until its fruition?” My answer was right there on that machine. As I struggled past the 15 minute mark, my mind kept telling me that it was just too difficult this morning to go the whole way. It was like as if an inner voice was speaking to me with words like:

· Why go the whole way. 20 minutes would be good enough!
· Why don’t you just go back and feel comfortable in your bed?
· You can do this another time! Just relax and forget about the run
· You already did 8 km the days before. You have done enough
· You don’t have the time to go for an hour. Why don’t you just shorten your time?

As I struggled with these questions, I knew that the answer lied within. We are by nature choosers of the easy way. If we had an option, we will go downhill rather than uphill. The instant mentality has made us all to be impatient with results. People who are in such a situation will readily respond to easier options and more convenient alternatives.

It would have been so easy to make up a reasonable excuse
As I ran on, I found it harder and harder to stay running. It was so much easier to just go do something easier and something lighter. But I ran on. As the sweat drenched my body, I realized that even in New Life when all the commitments have been made, it is still much easier to make an excuse for why the goals set need not be accomplished. It is really so easy to explain away why the tough goals should be reduced and avoided.

Why it is so easy to give up
Even as I write this, I know that many IBOs who were at Gracehill Orchard Lodge (GOL) who made the big commitments would already be finding it difficult to keep their promises made to themselves. The reality of life in the plains brings with it many problems and issues. It is a reality check and a few would already tell themselves it is so reasonable to scale down their goals and targets. I could have easily run much less and still be satisfied with the distance I have run.

But no! I decided that I would not take the easy way out. I plodded on as the clock ticked away. Soon it read 35 minutes and I was so happy that I did not give up when the exercise seemed so tough. As it hit the 40 minute mark, I knew that I will achieve what I had come this morning to do. My motivation started rising high again and I pressed on with renewed hope and vigor.

It is tough to have vision because it is often easier not to see
Yes, it is tough to have a clear vision when all of your senses is telling you that it is not worth giving the kind of commitment and paying such a high price to make your dreams come true. The vision would seem so clouded and hazy at such junctures. Time and again, I have learnt to simply trust my own instincts and press on through the haze. It is when you cannot see that you should rely on your instincts and hunches and all of them should be pointed forward. In the gym this morning, I was running on reserve and yet I was sure I would make it through on the tread-mill. As I ran on past the 45 minute mark, I began to feel a new sense of energy pervade my body. I simply felt good and I knew I could see from that point on to the end.

Why is it that we don’t act even when we know that we should
I have been a great procrastinator in the past before. I always kept putting off what I should do with urgency. The reason why I kept putting off things was because I always had the right excuses for non-performance. I was a man of convenience who had the right reasons for everything that I did. When it suited me, I will work and when it did not, I will just turn away from work. Such inconsistencies are the bane of many talented people. Unfortunately people cannot break such unwanted habits.

Why do drinkers carry on – why do smokers continue smoking – why do gamblers go on & on?
When I think of how little resolve people have when they are under the influence of the wrong substances, I am appalled. Why should people continue doing things that would damage their body and affect their health. Does it make sense to me? Does it make sense to you? It doesn’t and yet people simple continue to abuse themselves. The high number of smokers despite the Government placing bans on them in most of the public places makes me wonder. People simply cannot discipline themselves. They can’t stop smoking and drinking just as they cannot help themselves going for additional helpings of food when it taste really good. It is a tragedy of great proportions but it will continue happening until health expires.

Why do we let failure just grip us so tightly – how do we break totally free!
We let failure grip us really tightly because we give it permission to do so. It is time we broke that stranglehold by declaring our intentions to ourselves. It is a reaffirmation of what we will not continue to do. The withdrawal of permission is powerful. What it means is that we will take the bold steps across. It is like stepping off the 8 feet high deck in GOL. To do it, we have to stop giving fear permission to paralyse us. Whatever negative experiences from our past can be banished and when we take the steps of breaking through to jumping and swimming, we know that we can totally turn our backs on fear. Likewise, we can free ourselves from past failure and declare that this will be a new year of release and freedom. Make that your call and see if it will not bring new dimensions of achievement for you. Do it – for yourself, your family and your ‘well-being’. God bless you!!!