“Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are your comfort zone.”
Have you ever went through a season of your life where you started something but didn’t finish or follow through with it? When you first started you were excited to learn and try something new but things just didn’t workout or maybe the passion you had at first no longer existed. What was that thing for you? When you look back were you just interested or were you committed?
“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you except no excuses; only results.”
Sometimes when we are just interested in a certain thing we don’t always give it our all or go all in. We tend to sit on the fence and wonder if we’ve made the right decision, or we think to ourselves; “Is this really what I want to do with my life?” We sometimes feel stuck because we believe our interest somehow deserves or serves a place in our lives but at some point we have to make a decision to commit or keep moving forward. Why is it sometimes so hard to make decisions about the best option? Is it because we get attached or is it that we feel like we’ve already invested so much time and energy into what we’ve been doing?
When we are committed to something it’s easy to give one hundred percent effort at any cost because the passion and desire is there. True commitment will keep you in the mindset of doing whatever it takes to produce the best possible results. So how do we move from a place of discovering our interest to making a commitment?
How to determine interest and commitment:
1.) Whats in our mind must match, whats in our heart
When we are truly committed to something and it’s the right thing we will have peace in our mind and heart. When our mind and heart refuses to settle and are continually at war we need to keep moving. One personal example I have is when I was in middle school I was interested in playing basketball, so I tried out for the team. I was a great shooter but didn’t know how to do anything else. I made the team but once I continued to practice I no longer wanted to play basketball. What happened? In my head I was interested but in my heart I wasn’t passionate about it and remained on the fence. If I had a passion for basketball I would have committed and did whatever it took to learn how to play. In middle school I also played volleyball the trumpet and the french horn in the marching band. These things were my life and I didn’t just play I was always striving to get better because my heart and mind were aligned.
2.) Interest is demonstrated in words and commitment is demonstrated through actions.
When we are interested in something we may think or talk about it often but we wont always follow through. One of the biggest ways to test our interest or commitment is to see how we respond when adversity comes. If we are interested we might only do what we can to make things work, but when we are committed we will do whatever it takes to make things work. Commitment will always drive us and push us to do things. Interest will keep us engaged until we discover what we really want.
3.) Interest will keep you busy, commitment will keep you focused.
When we are truly committed to something we are able to focus and give our all in investing in that thing. We figure out ways to make it better and it helps us get better. When we are interested in something we only sometimes do whats required but not always whats necessary and required. When we make a decision to commit to something we put ourselves in position to have a brighter future. Our interest will keep us engaged for a certain time but at some point we have to discover if what we are interested in is really whats right for us. Once you discover if your interest is what you really want make a decision and commit.
Sometimes we spend so much of our lives trying to discover if what we are interested in is really the right thing for us. This could look like choosing the right career, finding the right place to live, building the right relationships, or choosing the right path for our lives. Whatever the case maybe it takes a-lot of courage to step out of our comfort zone and get to the place where we are no longer just wondering but we have to make the decision of “Is this really for me? ” Don’t be afraid to make the decision when its time because if you don’t it will keep you from moving forward.
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