Commitment is an act, not a word. Jean-Paul Sartre
Actions, not words. Anyone can say “I do.” How many are willing to commit those words, in ink, on their fingers? May their relationship last as long as the ink will.
What does that mean?
To what are you committed? Really, really committed? The usual answers include your family, your friends, your system of beliefs, your values, even your country or your culture. But how committed are you? Are you committed to the level of “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country!” or are you somewhat less committed?
Unfortunately, for many, commitment is often more about the talk than about the action. If you think of the people who made a huge difference in the lives of the people of the world (for good or ill), were they just talkers, or were they committed and busy taking action?
Would Mohandas Gandhi be remembered around the world if he was only a talker, but did not do anything? Don’t mistake not doing something with not acting. His path was non-violence, and occasionally, not eating. But both were powerful actions, and were part of what became a new model for revolution with the minimum of bloodshed.
Why is taking action important?
There is a saying, that actions speak louder than words. Do you want someone to tell you that they think that you are special, or do you want them to do something to show you? Most people will take the action over the words. Which shows more commitment to you, actions or words?
That is what I believe the quote is about. It is about not just saying something, but doing something about it. If talk were all that was required to fix the world’s problems, gossip would have made the world into paradise millenia ago, right?
But since that hasn’t come to pass, I guess we’ll have to rely on the commitment of people and on their actions. And actions are what this quote is all about, not the talking.
Where can I apply this in my life?
The actions people take will tell you about their level of commitment. That’s where the term “fair weather friends” comes from. When the weather is nice, they’re there for you. But when it gets cold, windy, rainy, or otherwise unpleasant, their actions tell you just how good a friend they truly are.
As nice as it might be to know how good a friend someone is actually going to be, I don’t think a questionnaire or an essay test is the way to find out. Just keep an eye out to see whether they have excuses (talk) or whether they have your back (actions).
Similarly, if you are part of a group, how committed are you? Are you on the fringe, only showing up when it is convenient, or are you hard-core, and always there, ready to do what is needed? Knowing where people in your group stand is useful when planning events, right?
Anyone ever help plan something and have a bunch of people who said they’d help go all flakey on you at the last moment? They were more words than action, showing how little commitment they had for that project.
But what about you? Going back to the first paragraph, what are the things to which you are committed? Grab some paper and write down a few things from each of the different areas of your life. Even if you aren’t totally committed, add them to the list, so you don’t have a mostly blank paper.
Now put a number, from 1 to 10 (where a 1 means “if I don’t have anything else to do” and a 10 means “to the death!”), for each of these commitments, showing how committed you actually are. Hopefully you have a few items that scored greater than a 5. Hopefully, you didn’t score everything above a 5 either. Too many low or too many high values would probably indicate a problem with scoring or a very odd lifestyle.
Now consider which of the items you think you should elevate and which of them you are no longer as committed to as you once might have been. Now all you have to do is figure out how to show your new commitment for those things you are more committed, and how to let others know you’ve stepped back a bit for those things you no longer feel an affinity towards.
Commitment is an act. Make a decision, and take action. You have reviewed your commitments, now make a decision and make your commitment real by taking action. Even if it’s just calling someone and letting them know that you’re moving them up or down your list of priorities.
From: Twitter, @T_Philosophers
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jeanpauls417004.html
Photo by Ophelia219
Happy Birthday to Jean-Paul Sartre, born 21 June, 1905.
