Want to win? Increase the commitment to increase your chances

You can’t guarantee achieving a goal but you can definitely increase the chances of achieving it with a few simple ways to increase your commitment level

The world is changing right now in many ways, especially technologically and this has led to me feeling a need to make an urgent and necessary change in what I consume and focus on.

Maybe you’ve been having a similar pull too, a call to adventure of some kind.

Perhaps to start a new career in an upcoming tech based field, or make a shift in lifestyle to be a healthier version of yourself.

If you are, you’ll notice there is actually a lot we can do ourselves to help the transition be a quick and successful one.

We can find courses to use for studying material and we can even begin trying to network in specific online groups.

But this is just the surface level when it comes to achieving our goal.

When we understand how to self motivate is when we begin to truly increase our chances of success.

Being able to understand our unique personal relationship to commitment and then being able to turn the dial on it is what allows us to keep going no matter what gets thrown in front of us.

But on the contrary, not knowing how to self motivate and increase your commitment levels before going after a major endeavor is like having one hand tied behind your back. You’re never quite able to compete and give your best.

Here are a few ways to change our commitment levels and with it, change our chances of success:

Commitment of hours

This is a simple case of input = output. The more time we focus on a given goal and it’s required tasks, the more chance of success we are giving it.

You’ll have to make some scarifies of other things you like to spend time doing, but this is what’s required if we’re to raise our commitment level.

Commitment of quality hours

This is where you start to put in not just more hours into your goal but your best ones.

Your daily schedule’s most prized hours are when you are working alone, undisturbed. For some this can be in the very late evening, but for others it’s the very early morning. I like the latter, but pick what suits you.

Then give the goal the respect it requires by allocating those precious undisturbed hours to it.

Commitment of funds

This is where we put our money where our mouth is.

Both in quantity and in frequency, this is when we invest into our goal by investing in ourselves.

Depending on the level of investment, this could be committing funds for a course or books, or a group immersive weekend or even all the way up to 1 to 1 teaching.

The point is, that like your time, you are actively saying 'no' to certain expenditure and 'yes' to ones related to the goal.

Commitment to others

Perhaps my favourite, this is where we commit to people who will hold us accountable.

For many, this is the most effective form of commitment as it bonds your goal to a person (or group of people for even more effect) therefore making it more than just about you.

One of the best forms of committing to others are when we see people attempt to raise money for causes by undergoing a difficult personal challenge, like running a marathon. Here’s why it’s so powerful.

• The runner is fighting for a cause. They are representing all the people who support the cause and are affected by it too. There is now an outside emotional positive driver acting as a tailwind behind the runner.
• They also have a clear enemy. A force that is pushing back against the cause. This enemy could be something abstract like racism or it could be something concrete like cancer. Regardless, it’s presence is definite.
• They have a specific course of action to take that is both highly challenging but also achievable. It is not a vague or general goal. Nor is it something that hasn’t been done before. It’s something people can get their head around and rally behind.
• They have added pressure to succeed in the form of people’s donations and financial support and their race success is seen publicly too. There is no hiding place and going back on their word. People have committed to the runner’s efforts, so effort is now the absolute minimum.

So next time you’re weighing up going through a dramatic metamorphosis, take a think about how you can tip the scales of success in your favour by pulling on one or more of these commitment levers, and also consider, which ones really will mean the most to you?

We’re all motivated differently after all.