Why Is Personal Commitment a Core Value? Why do some people commit themselves to seeing things through while others quit? Sticking at something meaningful and seeing it through to the end is something that I’ve always been able to do, I did my research and here’s the reason I found it. But let me first define what commitment is.
Commitment is all about having willpower and being prepared to self-sacrifice.
- It helps you become more self-actualised and driven to achieve more in your private and public life. Please check out the video above for a details account of Maslow’s Principle of Hierarchy and hit this link if you would like to subscribe to my YouTube Channel I release a video every Sunday to empower you on you personal growth journey.
- Commitment helps you define who you are helping you to harness your strengths.
- It encourages you to be reliable and enhances your decision-making and your ability to find purpose and meaning.
But how do you use commitment to maximise your life? Continue reading to find out………
The Meaning Of Commitment & Personal
Core Values?
I remembered my sister and I attended an Alpha course which was held at my mother’s church.
Although we equally enjoyed the course and got a lot out of it, I saw the 10-week course through to the end, whereas my sister quit midway through.
It was long afterwards that I became aware I had elevated commitment as one of my core values. At this point, I realised that my behaviour revealed a lot about my core values.
Commitment involves the ability to manage your psychological and physical circumstances, in the face of impulses and temptations, so you can arrive at your short or long-term goals.
Marines have a habit of saying “everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die” But, to bring any dream alive you need commitment.
Your fundamental values, in general, affect the decisions you make, the friends you choose, and even your choice of partner. It influences just about every aspect of your life, whether it’s in a romantic, business, friendship or family capacity.
By being committed your willingness to dedicate yourself to completing whatever you set your mind to even when the going gets tough.
“I realised that our behaviour revealed a lot about our core values.”
The more choices you make that align with your core values, the greater sense of well-being, contentment and fulfilment you feel.
Does Commitment Make You Become More Self-Actualised?
Have you ever had something that you really wanted to achieve?
Perhaps you have a personal mission that would make a real difference in your life.
If you’re “self-actualised” you’re far more likely to make your personal mission a reality. That is to say, you are more likely to take action and commit to making it actually happen.
“we each have an intrinsic drive to reach our full potential”
The theory of self-actualisation was first introduced by Kurt Goldstein, a German neurologist and psychiatrist and is based on the principle that we each have an intrinsic drive to reach our full potential.
People who are self-actualised know that it’s within their capacity to choose actions that are in their best interests.
Self-actualisation was later expanded by American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, in his article, “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Earlier psychologists cited a more negative dysfunctional approach to human behaviour, but Maslow adopted a more definite account based on a hierarchy of needs.
Although Maslow’s theory doesn’t specifically refer to personal commitment in my view, lends weight to the reason why commitment should be one of them and here’s why.
The Affect Of Personal Commitment As A Core Value? – Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs
Maslow argued that people are moved to fulfil their basic needs first such as their:
- Psychological needs – food, water, shelter;
- Safety – in terms of our health, finance and personal protection against injury;
- Love – with respect to relationships, family, friends, and other social organisations and connections and;
- Self-esteem – both personal and professional through career, accomplishment and hobbies;
“Without commitment as a core value, it’s hard to see how we can become self-actualised”
https://youtu.be/SIruIL1qQKg
Once these basic needs are met, there is an innate desire to become:
“more and more, what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”
Maslow’s hierarchy is often displayed as a pyramid such as the one above. The theory advocates that we can focus on the pinnacle of self-actualisation once we have satisfied our more fundamental needs.
“Commitment can be viewed as a form of self-love.”
What do you think of Maslow’s theory?
Are you waiting to satisfy your most basic needs before committing to what you hope to achieve?
No matter what your goals and ambitions are without some level of commitment it’s hard to see how we can turn your dreams into reality.
I believe that personal commitment is a fundamental value to form self-love.
I have found that the more I love myself the more I have become committed to doing things that are in my best interest.
If you’re finding it difficult to find love check out my video below to discover real love.
To discover real love you first need to love yourself.
So understanding that you are loveable just the way you are, helps you become committed to a relationship and empowered.
If you would like to discover better love and start loving yourself click this link.
How Does Commitment As A Core Value
Help To Define You?
Like people who are self-actualised people who are committed to positive pursuits operate on a higher level than those who are not.
Their more likely to plan in advance, ensuring that we’re ready for every eventuality, and they adopt a proactive, rather than reactive approach to life.
They initiate events, taking control and organising them with meticulous attention to detail.
They enjoy a pragmatic, realistic and healthy approach to life, pulling on their strengths to harness self-control, inner self-confidence and self-esteem.
“more accepting of others and value individual freedoms and autonomy.”
Click this link to discover more….People who are self-actualised are also more likely to enjoy positive and meaningful experiences because they are more accepting of others and value individual freedoms and autonomy.
Similarly, there are more likely to have long-lasting relationships and more successful marriages.
They work better as a team, are more influential and command greater respect and are more focused and less discouraged when situations get tough.
To find your best self, look no further than really powerful tools created by Inner Talk
I believe that to become self-actualized is like painting a beautiful picture of your life and using it to help other people create theirs.
If you would like to discover how to become self-actualised click this click this link.
How Does Commitment Guide Your
Decision Making?
Your decisions should define the person you wish to become.
So too should the connectivity between your desire to commit to achieving a result and the decisions you make.
This is neatly summed up by Vince Lombardi’s statements:
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour.”
“core value helps guide and influences your decision making in a positive and fulfilling way”
So, for example, you want to lose weight but can’t resist the impulse of doughnuts for breakfast. Your inability to commit to losing weight by exercising self-control will of course dramatically affect your outcome.
It’s difficult to see how you can achieve any level of success without some form of commitment.
If you are really serious about losing weight what you eat and the amount of exercise you do should be a critical part of your planning and your ability to commit to it an ever greater part.
“instead of controlling your future ……..you’ll live the life others choose for you.”
It’s important to assess whether your core values reinforce commitment. One way of doing this is to consider the consequences of not committing to a decision.
For example, continuing to eat doughnuts for breakfast, could give way to significant health issues such as weight gain, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and so on.
On a deeper level, not committing to important decisions can have serious consequences.
In particular, it could result in being left vulnerable to the whims and dedicates of others. So instead of controlling your future and being happy, you’ll live the life others choose for you.
Click here to find out how this can detrimentally affect your life and how you can avoid it.
Developing Commitment As
A Core Value
Like with anything you wish to achieve in life, developing commitment is crucial. It requires the ability to keep your impulses under control and endure whatever obstacles life throws at you.
“discard your self-focussed outlook and look at the bigger picture”
For example, if you want to save your relationship with your partner and know that you have a negative bias towards conflict and anger, you’ll need to exercise restraint to avoid confrontation and hostility.
To do this, you need to approach life on a different level and discard your self-focussed outlook and look at the bigger picture, which is saving your relationship. Click this link to discover how you can achieve this and start moving your life forward.
“the ability to stay the course and focus on the result”
By focussing on your long-term goal, a prolonged meaningful relationship, it becomes easier to look beyond the immediate petty arguments and see things for what they could be.
A meaningful relationship with many objectives can be compared to fine wine, it often needs time to mature.
The winemaker must give sufficient time for the flavours to integrate and develop. This requires commitment and the ability to stay the course and focus on the result of your decisions.
Why Personal Commitment As A Core Value Helps Your Self Control?
Establishing self-control as a positive core value makes you more conscious of your physical and psychological behaviour. This, in turn, can give you the headspace to become more measured and responsible.
Let’s take this scenario, your partner comes home from work and is angry and annoyed at you and says:
“Why are these dishes still in the sink,
Every day you do this, never washing up after yourself.
You’re just, selfish, selfish, selfish, every day I come home from work and the same thing.
I have to clean up after you, what do you think I am your slave.”
Clearly, your partner is in a terrible mood, but the critical question to ask is why?
“if it wasn’t the dirty dishes, it would have been something else.”
https://youtu.be/SIruIL1qQKg
It’s unlikely to be just because you’ve left dirty dishes in the sink, as his response isn’t measured.
Besides, his only just stepped through the door and dirty dishes in the sink at best is likely only to be a nuisance level only.
The likelihood is that your partner is troubled about something that happened at work or on the way home from work.
The dirty dishes only serve to trigger a negative reaction. If it wasn’t the dirty dishes, it would have been something else.
Commitment And The Benefit of Defining
Your Long-Term Goals
But, focusing on your long-term goals and defining what you want long-term will help safeguard your relationship.
In this way, you’re more likely to figure out how you can quell your partner’s anger and get to the bottom of what’s really making them angry.
“staying committed and defining core values that reflect your long term goals”
With this, your response shouldn’t be:
“What do you mean, am I your slave, don’t ever speak to me like that, who do you think you are”
Your commitment to your relationship should lead you to say something like.
“Honey sorry about the dishes I’ll attend to them later, would you like to discuss what is troubling you?”
“It takes commitment to enjoy prolonged self-control.”
It takes commitment to enjoy prolonged self-control.
Remaining calm, responsible and reflective and understanding the emotions behind people’s behaviour is difficult but entirely possible.
Staying committed and defining core values that reflect your long-term goals, can help you avoid becoming bogged down. It will also allow you to concentrate on things that really matter.
How Does Commitment Help You In
Business?
If your goal is to start up a business, having commitment as a core value can help you last the distance and create a thriving business.
To kick-start your journey, you might need to create a business plan, in which case you’ll need the commitment to complete it.
“what you stand for as a business and your ethical and social responsibility.”
Without it, you won’t get past the first hurdle. You will inevitably experience setbacks that go with any business. Your commitment will also influence how you raise funds for your business, creating your goods or services.
In addition, how you bring your idea to market, and how you build your brand and maintain customer loyalty.
Defining your personal core values will also help your customers identify what you stand for as a business and your ethical and social responsibility.
“play to your strengths and compensate for your
weaknesses”
In addition, the essential
values of your business should align with your personal core values.
It might include being Customer-focused, Teamwork, Equality, Leadership, Humility, Diversity, and innovation.
Your values should also help you stay true to your business objectives and allow each step in your business process to add value.
Values that encourage you to commit to your business free from distractions, play to your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses are crucial.
How Does Commitment Help You Fulfil
Your Purpose?
Having commitment like self-discipline requires a sense of purpose. Your core values can help you establish your purpose.
For example, our purpose is to discipline our children to be on the right path and grow up being responsible adults.
By failing to commit to our purpose we can give mixed signals to our children, which can create confusion.
This might have long-term consequences for them such as misbehaving or poor performance at school.
“to achieve more productivity narrow down on what you want to one thing”
However, by a real commitment to a purpose, you can achieve things that you never thought possible. Gary Keller and Jay Papasan extol the benefits of having a purpose in their book “The One Thing”.
They advocate that to achieve more productivity narrowing down on what you want to one thing is the way to go. This would avoid spreading yourself too thin.
What Are The Benefits of Narrowing Down
Your Purpose?
Narrowing down your purpose and committing to it has major benefits. Successful people have a habit of sticking to the core values they believe in.
The American actor and film director Morgan Freeman said people often say I would have liked to have done this, and I would have liked to have achieved that, but said: “the bus runs every day”.
Freeman’s statement alludes to the numerous opportunities to commit to our purpose every day how often do we make up excuses for not making it happen?
“Highly effective people aren’t afraid to venture beyond their comfort zone”
What stops us from getting on that bus on our journey to success, is the fear of failing.
We’re often too frightened of the consequences of not succeeding so it sees us waiting for the bus, but never actually getting on it.
However, creating a mission statement around what we want to see happen in our lives makes us more likely to stay the course.
Highly effective people aren’t afraid to venture beyond their comfort zone and experience failure.
They fall often, they fail fast, and they fail over, and over again. But far from letting it cripple them, the contrary is true. It fuels their determination to succeed and makes them grow stronger.
It’s called commitment.
Click this link to discover how to become empowered and committed to achieving your goals.