COMMITMENT

What is commitment and how does this affect our ability to overcome adversity and accomplish our goals and objectives?

Foundation

Commitment is the foundation of a high-performance mindset and is critical for success through any challenge or endeavor. 

Think of it this way: the deeper and wider this foundation, the larger the pyramid and the higher the potential peak. We are only as successful as our commitment enables us to be. If we are weak here, it is only a matter of time before we fold to the pressures and hardships of adversity.

Our level of commitment strengthens our resolve and enables us to come out the other end of hardship stronger than we were going in.

SEAL Training

About the mid point of my 22 year career in special operations, I had the unique privilege of being an instructor at BUD/S or the Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL school house in Coronado, CA. BUD/S is the initial stage of becoming a US Navy SEAL and arguably the most demanding program in all of the US military with an average attrition rate of roughly 80%. 

It is six months of arduous conditioning and hardening of the mind to see who has the commitment and aptitude to become a US Navy SEAL. After this initial stage in the process, successful candidates will then attend an eight-month qualification course to learn more of the advanced skillsets needed to effectively integrate into an operational SEAL Team. 

Despite all of the data collected by the US Navy to figure out what enables and even predicts success through BUD/S, the Navy’s top performance psychologists have narrowed it down to one key factor.

The number one trait that a successful candidate possesses is resilience. That’s it! Mental and physical resilience. Not intelligence, athleticism, strength, physical build, sports background, knowledge, etc. All of these attributes can help to varying degrees, however, the predominant predictor of success is resilience, or the ability to persevere through adversity without breaking.

At the end of the day, your level of resilience comes down to your ability to commit and follow through to the completion of your desired end state. 

Now, let’s discuss how to commit.

Components Of Commitment

​Now that we have addressed the importance of commitment. We must now identify what it is. Commitment is comprised of four specific components:

• Purpose

• Why

• Motivation

• Discipline

Purpose

Your purpose is comprised of your belief system, encompasses your values, and what is important to you as an individual. It ultimately serves as the driving force behind your decision to commit to something. 

Your purpose is the lifeblood that sustains your ability to overcome adversity and the bedrock that constitutes our drive to successfully negotiate challenges and maintain consistency in our efforts to endure hardship and accomplish our goals and objectives.

WHY

Before you commit and decide to take on challenges, you need to define your “WHY” or your reason for embarking on the journey of accomplishing your chosen endeavor. 

Your WHY is strengthened and reinforced by your sense of purpose. They are both mutually supportive. The more selfless the reason, the stronger your sense of purpose. A WHY rooted in altruism results in a resolve nearly impossible to break!

Count The Cost

You need to work hard on the mental side of your preparation to be successful. You must count the cost and decide who and what you are committed to and how far you are willing to go to be successful. 

This should be worked out as the first step in the commitment process. The next step is figuring out your why and nailing down how this is driven by your sense of purpose.

​Questions that may help you identify your sense of purpose:

• What is your belief system? Is it greater than yourself?

• Who or what do you put your faith in?

• What are your values?

• Who are you and who do you want to be?

• What is the reason for committing to this endeavor?

• What are you willing to commit to to be successful through this process?

• How much effort are you willing to give and how far are you willing to go?

• Is this endeavor in line with your sense of purpose, your values, and your belief system?

  
  

The level of commitment that will ensure your success takes a combination of motivation and discipline.

Motivation

This is that initial feeling that inspires you to take action. It may initially fuel your commitment but is the first to go during times of adversity. 

When you are feeling the pressure, stressed out, tired, hungry, experiencing fear, and uncomfortable, your motivation is gradually stripped away.

Committing to something of meaning based upon motivation is a recipe for failure.

From the time I was 14 years old until I stepped foot on the BUD/S grinder at 23 years old, I was obsessed with becoming a SEAL. It’s all I thought about. It took about one full week of training for that motivation to go away and for me to seriously question my commitment to the process of becoming a SEAL.

Passion Is A Necessity 

You need motivation to be successful and I would argue that without some level of passion, you will not be able to muster up the strength and courage necessary to even begin the process of a challenging endeavor. 

Passion is a must if you want to perform to the best of your ability. However, we must also remember that…

Emotions Are Inconsistent 

Motivation alone isn’t enough to get you through. Motivation is an emotion that ebbs and flows based on circumstance. 

When times get tough, your motivation is the first to go. Know this!

You will need much more than an emotional high to negotiate the hard challenges you will be faced with in accomplishing meaningful goals. 

Prepare Appropriately 

You must mentally prepare for hardship before engaging. The more you know prior to going in, the more effective you will be in your preparation, and ultimately the better you will perform throughout the process. 

Do your due diligence to learn as much as you can about the process and be mentally prepared for setbacks. 

Know Yourself 

It is critical to understand that your level of commitment reinforced by a strong sense of purpose is necessary to accomplish your mission. 

When adversity hits, if your WHY is connected to a purpose or cause greater than self, you will course correct, and figure out a way to keep pushing forward. 

This is why understanding what motivates you and possessing a drive rooted in a cause greater than self is so powerful!

Motivation is the catalyst or the electrical charge that gets you moving in a particular direction, but it is your discipline strengthened by your sense of purpose that enables you to keep charging forward to completion.

• What motivates and drives you to action?

• What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

• What are you good at or what talents do you possess?

• What is it that helps you feel fulfilled and gives your life meaning?

Discipline

Discipline is doing what needs to be done regardless of how you feel and the current circumstances.

This attribute is what is needed to endure the daily grind. 

Your “Why” is what fuels your dedication and consistent effort to overcome adversity. Discipline, just like any other skill, must be trained frequently and developed over time.

Discipline builds consistency. Consistency breeds success.

Be Intentional 

I would argue, however, that just showing up day in and day out isn't enough. Your discipline must be backed by intention and focus to mitigate complacency and "going through the motions".

This level of discipline must be mastered through daily practice to achieve impressive outcomes. 

When I was a senior enlisted leader in the SEAL Teams, it was understood by all that the discipline we train throughout the daily grind is the discipline we will be able to leverage downrange when we are four to five months into a tough deployment. 

Mental toughness is developed through consistency and consistency is only possible through self-discipline.

Simply put, you must exercise discipline on a daily basis if you wish to tap into it when times get tough or uncomfortable.

It can be simplified in the following statement, “don’t think, just do”. Stop overthinking things in your subconscious attempt to find a way out and instead, take immediate action!

​Preparation Requires Discipline

Being ready for the known and unknown challenges of life, profession, competition, and combat requires discipline.

You must be willing to push through fatigue, fear, and the moments when you are struggling after an evolution, event, or training session that didn’t go your way.

​Discipline is strengthened when exhausted and unmotivated to muster the energy needed to carry on. This is why a strong sense of purpose and a thorough process of commitment is so important.

The more you force yourself to move forward when you feel like giving in, the stronger you become mentally. 

This process of hitting the wall and finding the strength to move forward and overcome obstacles is how you lay the foundation of mental toughness brick by brick, piece by piece, and win by win. There are no shortcuts here. Experience is a must.

We stay consistent through a conscious effort of revisiting our sense of purpose and remembering WHY we got started in the first place. We focus on who we are fighting for and why we are engaged in the current fight.

Tough times make tough people and what we do today prepares us for who we are tomorrow. If your sense of purpose and commitment is tied to someone, something, or a cause greater than self, you will be overcome.

If you quit today, you can guarantee that you will quit during the next difficult moment in life when others are depending upon you. 

How do we keep discipline going when times get tough or uncomfortable? How do we stay the course when physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted?

Establish Discipline AND Effectively Commit

Avoid quitting during adversity or making a decision you will regret for the rest of your life.

When the going gets tough, remember not to make life-changing, career-altering decisions under pressure or during times of stress.

Push through the current hardship to the end and then decide the appropriate course of action on the other side when you are in the proper headspace to make an important decision. This will most likely be a decision you can live with. Your ability to commit is the determining factor in success in any endeavor.

Define Your Values

Identify and then put pen to paper your values, your belief system, and ultimately what is most important to you and why. This is to help you dial in your sense of purpose.

Determine What You Want To Accomplish

Clearly define what you want to accomplish and understand the level of commitment required to achieve your desired end state. Are you willing to commit? If so, why?

Understand Your Purpose

Clearly define your personal WHY as it relates to your goals and objectives. Be cognizant of your sense of purpose in the process. A why reinforced with purpose constitutes a level of commitment difficult to break!

Figure out what inspires you 

Think about what motivates you to take action. Ask yourself the right questions. What excites me? What do I enjoy doing? What do I find interesting? What activities do I think are the most fulfilling? 

Seek Opportunities To Exercise Discipline

Where can you practice discipline in your personal life? What steps can you take to be disciplined in your professional life? 

Mike Tyson once said in an interview about his training that, "Discipline is doing what you hate like you love it".

Get Ready! Stay Ready!