How To Stay Committed

7:47 AM

Throughout my almost eighteen years on this earth I've come to the conclusion that this world is becoming a very uncommitted generation.
We tell people that we would love to help them and then go back on our word.
We commit to blog more and never blog at all.
We promise ourselves to work harder at our dreams but let them go when they seem unattainable.

We go back on anything and everything that doesn't feel like it will go anywhere. We do things because we want something out of them usually. It's easier that way. It's easier to stay committed if it's not just the other person receiving something.

Listen, I'm not just talking about you - I'm talking about myself here. I'm one of the worst people in the world to stay on track with what I promised to do, and I'm growing to realize that it's taking over my life. It's keeping me from fulfilling God's dream.
But I'm not going to let it take me.
Here's a little list on what I've learned about how to stay committed....

1. First and foremost, before you even commit yourself to anything - before you tell your best friend that you will do a guest post for her, before you tell your pastor you'll teach Sunday School class once a month, or before you promise to do anything, ask yourself, "do I have the time?"
Be honest. Think over what you're committing to do. Is your job going to interfere down the road? Do you already have plans that may or may not take your time? Will this new thing drain you? Will it take you away from what really matters to you?
Before you jump into anything and message back, "YES!", take the time to see if you even should be committed. I think that's the number one problem with those who don't commit - they say 'yes' when they later realize they should have said 'no'.
And it's no fun to be stuck in even a good thing that you want out of down the road.

2. Keep track of what you've committed to do.
If you told someone you'd do a guest post on their blog next Friday or that you'll help them critique their essay before the month is out, go ahead and put a reminder on your phone, calendar, or on a sticky note on your mirror. I'm serious - this works. You need a reminder when you say you'll do something and if you're like me, that promise can get lost under a bunch of other important stuff.

3. Do it if you can NOW.
Don't put off what needs doing. If what you promised can be done earlier then do it. Procrastinating leads to the date coming on you suddenly and then you realize, "oops it's too late."

4. Be Honest with the person you're committed with.
If you told someone you'd do such and such for them but you know that certain plans may possibly come up that you have no control of, then tell them. Let them know you have a problem with procrastinating and may need reminded. Let them know if you may have extra college homework on Wednesday or if your job could require extra hours on Saturday. You need to be honest or otherwise you could make a friend really upset with you and how noncommittal you are.
Been there. Done that.

And that's it. That's what I've learned. It's easy steps, easy to read, but it's not easy to turn the tide (I'm right there so I know!) and stay committed with what you said you'd do. Especially in this day and age where everyone would rather be on their cellphones and let time fly then keep to their word.
Don't make the same mistakes I've made - do what you said you'd do. Keep the deadline, do it before if possible. Like I said, it's far from easy, but I truly believe it's great practice for following Jesus and His word when He gives us direction that grow hard to continually follow.

What have you learned in not being committed in a situation or running into something too quickly? How have you grown?

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6 of your thoughts

  1. Oh, wow, this is definitely some good advice! I tend to commit to relatively small things sometimes without thinking much, so I need to remember this. Although I do tend to slow down a bit with bigger things. ;)
    Thank you, Kara!

    1. Thank YOU for commenting Emily! I do too and it's a struggle to keep at them even when they become routine or a boring part of our daily schedule. I think sometimes the smaller things can be the hardest to commit to for me because I forget that they're actually there! Haha.=)

  2. This is great! Thanks for the reminder =)

    1. And thank you for your sweet comment - it made my day! ♥

  3. Thank you for letting God use you for the best. I love your posts.

    Have a blessed weekend! :)

    Allie D.

    1. Allie, thank you! You don't know how much I needed to hear that - I literally think I'm going to cry.
      Never forget how much God can use you Allie!

