As We Think - Greatest Thoughts : Commitment means dedication

Picture credit : picture by Diboke Group 2017

My commitment to life as youth development specialist and an entrepreneur is the foundation of the life I live and the greatest achievement I am striving to achieve and the achievements that I obtain over the years. 

 “The key purpose of youth work is to enable young people to develop holistically, working with them to facilitate their personal, social and educational development, to enable them to develop their voice, influence and place in society and to reach their full potential.”

"Commitment means dedication to a cause or purpose larger than yourself."

As we well know, people can be committed primarily to themselves and their own causes or a business, family, sport or hobby. In fact, that is where most people place their devotion and loyalty. You can live a life dedicated to mothering or gardening or making money, but I am asking that you consider a commitment to the common good: to something that takes you out of yourself and into the realm of service.

Living a committed life is not about doing good so that you can feel good about yourself or look good to others. 

It is about answering a call that creates a new context for your life. Living this way is guided by taking a stand and giving your word that you will live into that stand and have it shape your life. It requires keeping that commitment in the face of challenges by creating a context of possibility and transformation. You learn to pay attention, to train yourself to navigate the upsets and challenges and to learn from and be nourished by them.

When you are able to turn breakdowns into breakthroughs, then whatever comes at you in life (a job loss, a death, cancer, the breakup of a marriage) can become a gift; it’s all there to teach you, to empower you somehow. You’re free from falling into the dark hole of depression or wallowing in jealousy or envy. It’s not that life’s difficulties don’t show up, but they show up in a way that you are served by them rather than being taken down by them. 

A commitment larger than your own wants and needs lifts you out of the landscape of your circumstances and personal desires. It lifts you out of day-to-day moods, irritations, and upsets about things not going your way. It pulls you out of that smallness and elevates you to a place where you find the strength and courage to generate your life out of possibility and generosity.

All great movements, all major alterations in the course of history, began with a courageous commitment by a human being who said what they meant and meant what they said— someone who held themselves accountable to a standard beyond what they knew possible of themselves.

As We Think - Greatest Thoughts