Finding Commitment

Published October 5, 2016

October 5, 2016

Written By Melanie Spring

Stop Quitting. Start Committing.

Have you ever heard a speech about someone who had something horrible happen to them and it changed their life? Cancer, a car accident, an injury, a fight, a sickness, a relationship ending, being arrested. They get up on stage and start with how it all changed for them. My goal in this life is to never have to give that speech because I was in control of my life being amazing and nothing had to happen to me to change it. One of my other goals is to make sure others are living their lives in a way that they won’t have to either.

Many people think about things they need to give up or quit or get rid of – those habits they want to be done with. But how many times do we say we're going to do it and then decide it's not really as big of a deal. So we keep doing that thing. We keep going back to it with guilt and the feeling that we really can't stop doing it because (insert excuse here).

Most of the time, these are just stories. Stories we tell ourselves because we're human. And that's where those speeches come from. We never gave up that thing and something had to step in and change it all for us.

I recently wrote a very personal blog post called Because I Keep Saying I Will on one of my biggest "stories." The story that said I wasn't strong enough to find something different to cope with stress, anxiety, nightmares, and lack of sleep. Something that could help me stay focused because I just wasn't built that way. And you know what, it was just that – a story.

Replacing my story with a commitment – NOT saying "I'm giving it up" or "I quit" – but saying, this is my new story and this is how I want my life to look. I have a much better chance of being true to myself and writing the next part without making up guilty lies.

COMMITMENTS: Even if you don't read the post, or listen to the podcast, here’s my commitment to myself:

Meditation as medication. I am committed to meditate when I feel it’s time to medicate myself. Even if that mean I have to meditate 15x a day to make it stop.

No booze in the house. I am committed to removing all alcohol from the premises and will not purchase another bottle of anything.

Playtime looks different. I am committed to finding new activities that will replace “meet me for a drink” activities.

Cravings become writing. I am committed to keeping a journal of how I’m feeling so I can find out what brings on the cravings.

COMMUNITY: As much as people like to complain about others oversharing, posting too much, and being narcissistic, we humans need each other. We need to hear each other’s stories, we need to know that others struggle like we do. We need to be there to help each other through these things. I need you. You need me. We can do this together.

Do you have something you need to commit to? It doesn’t have to be the same as what I’m doing.