In 1519, a Spanish Conquistador named Hernán Cortés, landed in the New World. He came from a family of lower nobility. This drove him to make a name for himself thousands of miles away from home.
He arrived on the beaches of Mexico and then did the unthinkable. With 500 men watching he had all his ships destroyed. Then men could have revolted and killed him right then or they could follow him to victory.
Whichever path they chose, one thing was clear, there was no turning back. In one audacious act, Cortés removed the only escape route his army had.
This is one of the best examples of commitment I’ve ever seen. Making a commitment means seeing something through to the end. It is something you do, not something you say.
Most people, including myself, struggle with commitments.
Take New Year’s resolutions for example. Americans love to set these goals at the beginning of every year. It’s a fresh start. A chance to change your life.
It’s great! Unfortunately, in less than six weeks, 8 out of 10 people fail to keep this new commitment.
This is both depressing and exciting. It’s depressing because the world would look very different if more people stuck to their commitments. It’s exciting because I have an advantage in life. I may not be the smartest, fastest or most creative. But I can be the most committed and start out ahead of the other 80% of people around me.
On July 28th I made a commitment to write these letters. Not only am I still at it two months later, I’m getting better. This experience, and others like it, have taught me a lot about how to stay the course. Here are a few of those lessons.
Schedule
Having a schedule makes it a lot easier to keep commitments. In high school, we had practice every day after classes. It was easy to keep this commitment thanks to the schedule. I had no where else to be and it was the same time every day.
Team
The other built in advantage of my practice schedule was the team. I was with a group of guys all heading out to the field. We held each other accountable. When that didn’t work, we always had a coach. If we were late, we all knew we’d be running laps.
Habits
When I’m the only one holding myself accountable, things get harder. One trick is to create a habit around the commitment. I do this with my writing.
I get up at the same time every morning (even on weekends). I have the same routine. Brew a cup of coffee, read for 15 minutes, have a second cup of coffee, eat a banana and then write. I play the same music, stand in the same place and usually spend the same amount of time writing each letter. It’s like clockwork and it makes keeping my commitment that much easier.
Share
I’ve found that by sharing my commitment it helps keep me on track. Everyone I’m connected to on social media knows about this project. It’s like I have a thousand eyes watching me and expecting me to deliver. Knowing others know gives me an extra push out of bed every morning.
Say No
I love doing new things and helping other people. I also hate to disappoint others by telling them no. But, if I take on too much, I will fail at the things I care about most. By doing meaningful work, it makes it easier to say no. Everyone understands why I can’t take on more.
Be Specific
I am not writing letters to my kids, I am writing 74 letters to my kids. I want to complete it by the end of 2017. By getting specific about the goal, it helps me stay on track over a long period of time.
Small Wins
Every time I press publish, I am one step closer to completing this project. Each wins gives me a little dose of motivation to do it all over again. It’s a reward and it feels good. This small treat trains my body to repeat the process all over again.
There is nothing easy about commitments. Then again, if it were easy, everyone would do it.
This post is part of a series of letters to my kids. My goal is to reflect on and capture as many life lessons as possible. Here is the current list I am working from.
