A lot of people say they want this and that out of life. They want to be “successful” or that want to learn to play the piano.
But the truth is, they don’t actually desire it enough.
They’re not 100% committed. They haven’t actually made up their mind about they want and then resolved the price to have it. Instead, they’re still emotional unsure.
They’re playing it safe. They’re leaving an escape route in case things don’t work out which soon leads to mediocrity and a pile of buried dreams.
To quote Benjamin P. Hardy,
“[Most people are] hedging their bets, creating several backup plans in case their dreams don’t quite work out. Ironically, they end up dedicating the majority to their backup plans, and that becomes their life.”
In order to truly succeed at something, you have to really want it. You have to want it more and more every day. You have to be willing to give up the life you have for the one that you could have.
Indeed, your point of no return must be reached.
You must get to the point where stop justifying excuses. Where you become 100% committed to what you’re doing, even if it does mean that you’re going to either fail big or succeed big.
This article about doing just that.
Here we go.
You Either Live the Life You Want or Live with Excuses as to Why You Never Got it
“There are two types of people: those who get results and those who have reasons for not getting results.” -Dan Sullivan
Everyone’s got a reason for why they aren’t doing the things they supposedly deem “important:” “Oh, I haven’t got the money,” “I haven’t got the time,” “I need to focus on other areas of my life.”
But excuses, like all other thoughts, are only our perception of reality. They are not the truth, but rather just the reasons we tell ourselves for why we did or didn’t do something.
And I’ve learned that you can tell yourself all the excuses in the world about why you can’t write, sing or dance. But sooner or later you’re going to find yourself living that life, rather than the one you want.
“Word becomes flesh” as the saying goes, and no excuse exists that can or will get you what you want.
The only thing powerful enough to continually pull you towards where you want to be in life is a firm and unwavering commitment toyour goals.
And the only way to become truly committed is to raise the stakes. To actually put something on the line. Where failure doesn’t just mean lying to yourself but lying to others as well. Where you don’t just lose your own self trust but everything that you’ve invested.
Creating such a commitment is a matter of;
- Making a high investment into your goals
- Getting other people invested in your goals
When you make a high investment into your goals, you actually change your very psychology in relation to those goals; you commit to wanting more than you currently have. There’s no going back.
Hence, the bigger the investment; the bigger the emotional attachment, and the more likely you are to push forward in the pursuit of that goal.
Secondly, getting other people invested in your goals is actually crucial to commitment. Many people will say, “Don’t talk about your goals, no one’s going to believe them, anyway.”
However, if your relationships aren’t built on honesty and trust, then what are they built on? You never want to be trying to fight a silent battle. Always seek to find people who push and hold you accountable in some way or another.
Every Area of Your Life Affects Every Other Area of Your Life
“People say to me, “Dandapani, if I practice meditation for 10 minutes every morning, is that going to affect my life?” And I’m like, “Yes, but what are you doing the remaining 23 hours and 50 minutes?” If you’re doing things that counteract what you’re doing in the morning, then that doesn’t help!” -Dandapani
Many people are just after a quick-fix. They want everything to be easy and straightforward. They’re used to getting their mail shipped to them overnight so they expect to apply the same thing to their life.
But that’s not how life works. There is no app where you can order a large sized ‘overnight success.’ It’s not just about reading a few books, practicing for a few minutes and then becoming an “Expert” or an “Influencer.”
Instead, it’s about altering your whole life to reflect the results that you want. It’s about living in alignment. It’s about getting really clear about where you’re going and then saying “no” to almost everything else.
Hence the words of Epictetus,
“If you wish to improve, be content to be seen as ignorant or clueless about some things.”
Indeed, in order to improve, you need to remove the complexity from your life. You need to keep things very simple and do only do that which is most important.
“If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any,” said bestselling author, Jim Collins. And well it may seem extreme, it’s actually completely true.
For example, most world-class athletes have actually built their entire lives around just two things: practice and recovery.
The same is true for most successful people. While they appear to achieve a lot, they’re not actually doing a lot. They’re simply moving five steps in 1 direction rather than one step in 5.
It’s the subtle difference of being 100% committed to one thing.
In Conclusion
Are you 100% Committed?
Are you invested in your goals?
Are other people invested in your goals?
What would happen if shaped your entire life to reflect the results that you want?