On Fulfilling Commitments
I’ve been thinking recently about the principle of fulfilling the commitments that I make. And the principle of fulfilling commitments in general. It’s nothing complicated but I think it requires 3 things.
First - Using your power to fulfill commitments
Are you taking control of your life or are you just letting those around you determine how you live it? I could write a whole blog post about this as well, but the main thing is that we can choose to have a lot of control over our lives or we can choose not to.
How does this relate to fulfilling commitments? I should use the control that I have over my life to try and fulfill those commitments as best as possible. For me this looks like giving extreme importance to the things that I have already committed to, and going the extra mile to fulfill that commitment.
Second - Repentance
Repentance typically has a religious meaning and I’m a big fan. (Read about it here) To put it simply, repentance is the act of changing when we’ve done something wrong.
If I’m unable to fulfill a commitment I should evaluate “Was it because of my own actions that I was unable to fulfill this commitment?” The idea is to clarify whether or not this was something within my control. From there I should apologize to those with whom I have made the commitment and seek to change so as to not let it happen again.
Third - Don’t overcommit
As a college student and someone that enjoys spending time with other people I like to go to a lot of social gatherings. In the past I have tried to go to every gathering possible. This usually results in a couple things: 1. I get to see lots of friends and have very short interactions with them. 2. I spend a lot of time figuring what my schedule will by going from event to event. 3. I end the night extremely tired and doing this over and over can be exhausting.
Don’t get me wrong, party hopping is awesome. But what I’m trying to demonstrate is that by trying to do more we may end up doing less. But if we try to do less, we may end up doing more. I’ll say it again: Do more with less
Simplifying is something that has helped me live a more fulfilling life. There are an insane number of variables in life and trying to maximize every single one of them is quite a headache.
To help with overcommitting I’ve tried telling people now “Sorry I won’t be able to come I’ve already committed to doing X”, or also “That sounds super fun, I’ve already committed to X but if plans change I’ll let you know” this keeps the door open while also helping me stick to my commitment.
The side effects of commitment keeping
In all reality I’m just trying to be a man of my word. This builds trust with others and helps strengthen relationships. I would like my family, friends, and coworkers to know that when I’ve committed to something I will complete it. Above all, this helps me also fulfill the promises that I have made with God.
– Chase
p.s. these people have more to say on the matter: