The path to excellence
Commitment is the language of the wise. Commitment is a responsibility and includes accountability. In life, when one takes responsibility without accountability, it weakens one’s being.
Our weakness results in disappointment. People derive sadistic pleasure from disappointment. This is primitive pleasure, like a grown-up boy sucking his thumb. To cremate disappointment, one should strengthen one’s strengths. The greatest strength comes from the energy of commitment and it brings in excellence in all walks of life. Few people traverse the road to success without a puncture or two, but it is the commitment to excellence that takes them through.
Commitment is not being ‘stuck’, but it is an integration of one’s being. For example, if you are committed to honouring your word, then the ‘lower self’ in you will discourage (encourage? Pls clarify with the writer) you to justify your failure in not keeping up your promise. If your energies are low, you will be sucked into its logic and reasoning. But if you follow the ‘higher self’, the ‘lower self’ will be like a servant serving the master. Slowly the ‘lower self’ will be integrated with the higher. In such a state there will be integrity. Without integrity, life will be shallow.
We have both in us–an actor and a thinker. Every time we lie, the thinker warns us that we are lying and the actor asks us to shut up and continue telling lies. In such a state, there is a split in our being–between the actor and the thinker. It is like riding a chariot with two horses, each one going in different directions. Commitment creates integrity. In this state, it is easier to bring forth excellence.
Observe nature and see how other beings are committed. For example, look at an eagle.
From a range of five km, it focuses on its prey.
Can we focus on our goals like an eagle?
An eagle does not eat dead prey.
Can we learn not to live on dead information?
If there is a storm, the eagle can glide on the strong breeze. It tests its wings and enjoys the storm and the challenges associated with it.
Can we enjoy difficulties and convert them into challenges?
An eagle does not mix with other birds. It soars high on its own.
Can we be part of an average crowd and still soar high in our strengths?
An eagle tests before it trusts. Before mating, a female eagle tests its partner. It picks up a twig, flies high and as the male follows, it flies around to escape and finally drops the twig. Before the twig falls on the ground, the male catches the twig and gives it to the female. It repeats this act. If a male succeeds in catching the twig consistently, then it allows mating to take place.
Commitment also involves dropping illusions. We do not see the world as it is. We see the world projected through our verbose minds. Minds are filled with thoughts, which are nothing but mere words. Words represent experiences. Words are also influenced by memory of the past. From the past, we see the present. Hence, we create illusions by words, but we must filter them wisely.
Through commitment, balance all walks of your life–family, work, social and spiritual. When one is complete, one is alive and vibrant in all walks of life.
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