5 Steps to Whole-A$$ Commitment

There’s a special kind of goal called a “commit or quit” goal. If you haven’t heard of this, that’s not surprising, because I made it up. I made it up because I noticed I was doing too many things half-assed: not fully committed, not fully enjoying, not doing it as well as I could. Do you have half-assed commitments in your life?

One of my half-assed commitments was blogging. I’ve been doing it for 5 years now, and there are many things I enjoy: the writing, the regularity, the personal evolution. The half-assed part is that it has not been toward a goal. I haven’t tried to build a readership. I haven’t targeted an audience. I haven’t developed a platform. None of that would matter except I am directing precious energy to something I only kinda enjoy. That’s the flipside of a half-assed commitment–the rewards are half-assed, too. Maybe I should invest that discipline and creative energy in something that gives me full pleasure.

5 Steps to a Commit-or-Quit Goal:

1) Define what full-ass looks like. Clarify success. If you took this commitment seriously, what would it take to experience success.

2) Designate an amount of time that you will commit fully. 30 days might be good.

3) Plan two rewards: one for if you decide to commit (the reward might make commitment easier…for example, if I decided to commit to my blog, my reward would be to get a virtual assistant), and one if you quit (what reward will make you feel better?…for example, if I decided to quit my blog, I would enjoy the completion of a closure post).

4) Approach with an experimental attitude. Pay attention to what you like and why, and what you don’t like and why. Watch for emotion. Watch for deal-breakers.

5)  This is the most important part: give yourself full permission for either outcome. There is no failure in a commit-or-quit goal! No matter what happens, enjoy the unbounded energy that results from gaining clarity.

Have you figured out my outcome? This is my closure post. On Day 4, I knew I would not enjoy the commitment and focus required to create a professional blog platform. I feel a huge sigh of relief to have clarified this. Gone is the internal conflict of doing something I knew I wasn’t doing well. No more no-win of not completely succeeding while not completely failing. If you know these feelings, I urge you to set yourself free with a commit-or-quit goal.

I will no longer be blogging. It feels so good to write that with crystal clarity! My creative energy has skyrocketed since deciding! I’m still writing regularly in the forms of guest blogs, articles and books. Hopefully you’ve seen and read my first book, The Opposite of Burnout: 5 Career Strategies to Feel Valued, Be Heard, and Make a Difference, which gives you tools to create meaningful work. The Opposite of Burnout shares what I’ve learned about creating a mindset and tiny habits that build one-upon-another to create a life you love. These were hard lessons learned, put together in one place to save you some pain.

My second book, Intentionology: 365 Days of Living on Purpose, is coming out this summer. It begins with a short section to explain how and why intention works, followed by 365 beautiful, empowering Intentions you can use to redirect your experience, one day at a time. The intentions are set in a journal style so you can re-write them in your handwriting and exact words, thereby making them your own. This is a book you will refer to for the rest of your life! If you’re interested in being an advance reader, drop me an email.

Those are my first two books, and more are coming! To stay in touch, subscribe to True You Journal, a monthly newsletter that explores:

• Self-Care/Self-Love – holistic, natural ways to reclaim our primary relationship
• Stories You Tell – increasing awareness of our dance with Truth
• Intentional Practices – established rituals and practices that lift our human experience
• Growth Journey – the eternal quest for wholeness

Peppered throughout: essential oils, enneagram, energy work, journaling, InstantPot, sensuality, Love, poetry, community, planning, recovery, moon cycles, the wisdom of others, science, and spirituality.

Thank you for sharing the journey!