Commitment Overwhelm
More often than I would like to admit, I find myself being overwhelmed by the number of commitments I have made in any given week.
My default behavior is to make sure I stay driven to fulfill on everything I have said "yes" to, at all cost.
Inevitably, things pile up, and I end up not keeping a commitment. When this happens, I notice a loss of personal power and a reduction in my happiness and self-expression. Basically, I feel bad for not keeping my word. The biggest trap here is that all the attention is on myself. I can hear my inner critic judging and evaluating myself for not being good enough.
This behavior can create a cycle of diminished confidence and a sense of feeling trapped. Now, I have not only lost my power, I have also lost my freedom.
...And then I get really grouchy, and I try to act happy and normal, which doesn’t work out very well. Essentially, I become of victim of my circumstances: my commitments, my schedule, and my life. I fantasize about moving to a deserted island or becoming a hermit in the woods. Yesterday, it was becoming a farmer with my daughter in East Austin. Does any of this sound familiar to you?
And then I remember…there’s freedom in honoring my commitment.'
The moment I shift my attention from being a victim of the situation to owning my commitment, I have the power to choose. And in that choosing, I have fundamentally navigated to a new world of accountability. As Viktor Frankl refers to in his book, “In Man’s Search for Meaning”
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is the power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
I can get to work on recovering myself, I can clean up my impact on others, and I can make a new promise, communicating this out to my team members.
When we honor our commitments, we honor those around us and ultimately, we honor ourselves.... Which leads us right back to Fundamental #1: ACT WITH INTEGRITY.
All my best,
Marlene
Fundamental #11: HONOR COMMITMENTS
Be reliable and deliver on all your commitments, no matter how small. If a commitment is in jeopardy, notify others immediately and set a new commitment.
