Commitments are important contracts.
They let people know what to expect.
The most important commitments are the ones we make to ourselves.
Yet we can sometimes fall into a trap.
OUR COMMITMENTS ARE MEANT TO SUPPORT US.
To give us direction and let us know where to point our energy.
The danger lies in setting a commitment in stone.
Of course we should not let go of our commitments too easily.
If we do, those around us will feel like they can’t trust us.
People will feel that our words will cannot be taken seriously.
SO WE MIGHT THINK MORE CAREFULLY BEFORE ENTERING INTO ANY COMMITMENTS.
If we have, then we can be present to how the commitment feels to us.
For that might shift half way through.
Perhaps we really were committed to the project when we started.
Maybe we even worked hard at it for a period of time.
BUT A POINT CAN COME WHEN THE COMMITMENT CHANGES FROM SOME TO HONOR TO A BURDEN.
For when we lose the energy or the drive to stay engaged in the commitment, it can start to feel heavy and restrictive.
That is when we can look at the commitment again and decide if we wat to re-commit to it, or release it.
A COMMITMENT SHOULD NOT BE A JAIL SENTENCE.
Commitments should support us and allow us to flourish.
Yet the stories we tell ourselves about our commitments can turn them from something wonderful to a leash that we pull against.
Knowing when to leave a commitment and when to stay can be tricky.
For we have to look at all the implications of staying or going seriously.
CAN WE FIND A WAY TO TURN WHAT NOW FEELS LIKE A HEAVY LOAD INTO SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH?
Perhaps it doesn’t have to be either or.
Maybe we can find that delicate balance between staying and going.
One thing is for certain, if the commitment is no longer serving us we need to re-evaluate it.
To at least consider letting it go or not.
FOR IF WE ARE OPEN TO THE IDEA THAT WE CAN DROP A COMMITMENT THAT MIGHT NO LONGER BE SERVING US, IT MIGHT JUST GIVE US THE SPACE TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT IT.
Just giving room for the possibility of letting it go might give us the necessary space to look at it in a new light that it no longer feels so heavy.
The end result should be that our commitments are joys in our life, not obligations or prison sentences.
And that way we will be more committed than ever!
So are there commitments in your life that you want to re-examine?
~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant
Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour
