Leave the Shore: Commitment

Committed people get what they want. Uncommitted people get disappointed. The number one thing that allows successful people to do what they need to do in order to get what they want is their level of commitment.

The key question to ask yourself is: "Am I willing to do whatever it takes to ______ ?" For us, that looks like: "Am I willing to do whatever it takes to lose weight and never have to diet again?" If the answer is no — not whatever it takes — then why not, and what are you willing to do?

And a fair question about the work itself: are you doing the written exercises? Are you writing down what you eat? If you are not doing the work, you are not going to get the results, and not doing the work shows you are not yet committed.

At power level one you are committed to the concept but not the action. You might be totally committed to weighing less but not committed to doing anything about it. People at this level would be thrilled to wake up 100 pounds lighter, but they are not willing to skip their nightly dessert. They wake up every day saying "I hope I lose weight," and nothing happens.

Hoping is useless without action. Billions of people spend billions of dollars in the hope that they will lose weight, and very few are truly successful.

The second power level is choosing. Choosing requires that you make a decision, and it carries much more powerful energy than hoping.

Take a deep breath and say: "I choose to be a person that NEVER has to diet again." Feel the difference against "I hope I never have to diet again." Choosing is the only way you get to control your destiny. Choosing is good — but we can do better.

The highest power level is to fully commit. This is ten out of ten — the level at which you WILL do whatever it takes to succeed. Lean, healthy people are committed to do whatever it takes. Period. You might think they are lucky. They are committed.

Try this on for size: "I commit to being a person that NEVER has to diet again." For some that feels empowering. For others it feels scary.

If you are not happy with some aspect of your life, it is your duty to do something different — something new, unfamiliar, uncomfortable and, yes, scary. That is why this section is called Leave the Shore. Until you commit to leaving what you know and venturing into the unknown, your boat is never going to get anywhere. You will stay tied to your current life like a boat tied to a dock.

If you are not achieving what you say you desire, there is a good chance it is because either you are trying to commit to the wrong thing, or — more commonly — your fear or apathy is overpowering your capacity to commit.

There are only two fixes: clarity and courage. Step one is to get clear on what you want. If you still need clarity, go back through beliefs, vision and purpose, and actually do the exercises. Clarity comes from building the lighthouse. Step two is to build courage.

"Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the knowledge that there is something more important than fear." — Ambrose Redmoon

A low power level right now does not mean you are hopeless. Knowing and admitting that you need a more powerful commitment is a huge step forward.