Hope.
It’s such a positive thing, isn’t it?
I mean we say things like “I’m hopeful things will get better”, “Hopefully I’ll lose those 10 pounds before the wedding”, or “I hope I get that job”.
So, what’s the problem with hope?
The problem is that when you “hope”, you’re not committing to anything, you’re just “hoping” that what you want will show up. It requires no action.
Hope won’t get you out of bed in the morning and moving towards where you want to go.
Recently I’ve become aware of all the times I say “I hope”, “I’m hoping”, “hopefully”, and other versions of this word. Hope is so ingrained in my vocabulary and I’m just now realizing how meaningless it can be.
A light went off for me a few weeks ago my supervisor asked me if I could provide her with some information for a meeting in the afternoon. I knew it would be tight, so I said I “hope” to get the information in time.
What?
Hoping didn’t motivate me to get the job done. Instead it kept me comfortable and saved from from possibly failing on a commitment.
When I really looked at it, I realized I was hiding behind “hope” to get away from my fear of failure of not getting my work done.
I was afraid to commit.
Because committing is risky.
Committing means that you have to say yes to doing something you don’t know if you can do.
It means you might put in a lot of effort and not get to your goal, or lose the all the weight, or finish the race, or finish writing that book, or marry that guy.
When you commit, it’s true that you might not succeed.
But if you don’t commit, there’s no hope of success.
Where hope keeps you comfortably inactive, commitment propels you into action.
I look at hope as a bunch of helium filled balloons. Let’s say you hope to go to Italy for your next vacation. If you “hope” to go to Italy, that would be like grabbing onto the strings of those helium filled balloons and hoping you get there.
No real direction or movement in the direction of Italy. You’ll just be floating around. And of course any obstacle you encounter (tree, bird, mountain,…) will likely put a quick end to your journey.
However, I see commitment as an airplane. The airplane will propel you directly to where you want to go, and for the time you want to get there.
So, which form of transportation would you use to go to Italy?
In terms of my clients, I hear “hope” a lot. I’ve heard them say “I hope I have the time to get my workouts done this week”, “Hopefully I’ll eat better today than yesterday”, or “I’m hoping the scale shows something better this month.”
But maybe you’re beginning to realize what I have, that the results won’t come with hope. They just won’t.
If you really want to get results, I mean you REALLY want them, then you have to commit. There’s no other way.
You have to commit, as scary as it is, to doing all the things it will take to get that thing done.
You have to commit to completing all the steps, doing all the homework, reading all the books, eating all the right foods, doing all the exercises.
No excuses.
Of course, I’m not saying that you have to be perfect. Perfection isn’t necessary or possible.
In fact, you will screw up.
Plan to screw up.
And when the screw up happens, the strength of your commitment will pull you back up off the floor and keep you moving forward. Hope, on the other had, will just give you a comfy place to fall.
In my last blog I explained how your thoughts create your feelings.
Well along those lines, try these two different thoughts on for size and notice how they make you feel:
Compare “I hope I lose the weight before the holidays” to “I’m committed to losing 10 pounds before the holidays.”
To me the first statement makes me feel weak. There’s no strength or power in it.
But the second statement makes me feel motivated. It’s bold, specific, and yes, a little scary. But I’d be 99% more likely to get that weight off with this thought.
Before I left my full time job six years ago to build my business, I was 100% committed. I put myself on the line in so many ways, and I knew I could fail big time.
But I also knew that if I didn’t commit, I would probably never even give it an honest try.
And truth be told, I was tired of hearing my thoughts go on and on, and not acting on what I wanted. And I was also tired of hearing about others who had “hoped” to build a business and never did, and I really didn’t want to be that person.
So I stopped hoping and seized the day.
Now, how about you?
Are you hoping for something? Or are you committed to getting it?
Is there something you’re willing to commit to today?
Share it with me, in the comments. Put it out there. Tell the world (or at least those that read this blog) that you’re committed to doing what it takes and you want to be held accountable. You don’t want to make excuses anymore, you’re ready to finally get it done!
Take the bull by the horns, and move forward my friend,
Debbie
P.S. Want to join me for Yoga or Boot Camp (or both) this fall? Just check out my my classes page for more information or to sign up.