Ancient Spirits

A wise man once said, a lack of commitment is the high cost of low living.

For some reason this stuck with me. It went deeper into me than all the other platitudes about commitment I’ve heard, and it got me reflecting. I noticed with clarity the areas of my life where a lack of commitment was having an effect, a pull down effect. There were some glaring areas. Yet, at the same time, I could see the massive effect that bringing full commitment to the situation would have. It was transformative. There was in that moment a renewed sense of possibility, and it was beautiful to witness.

What is it about commitment that makes it such a powerful act of creation? I’m not speaking about a halfhearted commitment, but one made with the fullness of our being. A complete commitment. No wavering, no humming and hawing.

And yet so many commitments we make lack, well, commitment. It’s as though we are hedging our bets. I see my mind playing this game, thinking: if I commit fully to this thing or that person and it doesn’t work out, then I’ve lost out on something else. So I hedge my bet, back off some, and then maybe if the one way doesn’t work out the way I had hoped it would, then I can always go the other way. Is this me wanting to have my cake and eat it too?

The reality is, when we fully commit to something or someone, inherently we give up other opportunity. That is the nature of commitment. It is a choice, and choosing is a power that is often overlooked. Choosing is an art.

I’ve seen some extraordinary examples of commitment recently. I’m sure you have to. It’s awesome to behold, isn’t it?

This year Taiwanese ultramarthon runner Kevin Lin ran 10,000 kilometers from Turkey to China through torrid environment in 150 days. That’s two marathons per day for 150 straight days! Every time I go for a short run in my neighborhood I try to get my head around the size of that commitment.

My parents who celebrated 45 years of marriage. An exemplary model of what a marriage partnership is all about.

I recently came across work Ancient Spirits at an art gallery (see inset photo). Alain spent 7 months painting this portrait of an American Indian chief. Up close the detail is mind blowing. It is gorgeous. The curator of the gallery told me he spends time each day simply getting lost in a small part of the painting. More than the commitment to paint this one portrait – this is about what it took to become the master who could paint that one portrait in 7 months.

These are some examples of personal internal commitment at its finest. It’s not solely about succeeding. Success is a relative external marker used to judge whether the commitment was “worth it” or whether the level of commitment was sufficient to the task. Commitment itself is an internal attitude that is itself a creative force. That is what makes it an attribute of masters and of mastery.

I have a client Bryan, the president of a growing metering company in eastern Canada. He has recently made a life-shifting, personal internal commitment and I want to share it with you. Take a moment to read this. I love this as much as I love the man Bryan and all that he stands for in this world. And we can all make such bold acts of personal commitment, to show up to life fully.

This will be my final Unusual Leading newsletter because I have too made a personal internal commitment—the biggest commitment of my life–to turn my life over to my highest calling and to live and serve fearlessly and without limits from that place. For me, it is a massive commitment. A little trepidation? Definitely. Will I miss out on some things in life? Quite possibly. But what an act of creation it will be.

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P.S.  If after reading this you feel like you’d like a little more inspiration in making your own internal personal commitment, watch this: TBOLITNFL (long version recommended). It’s the Deuce Lutui story as told by Steve Hardison.