Deadlines and Commitment

In this week's blog I'd like to focus on how commitment strengthens deadlines and how deadlines can strengthen your commitment.

Today most of us have one of the least favorite deadlines of the year. It's tax day. Like most people, I really don't enjoy doing the work that comes with filing my tax return. Still, every year I start early, I break the task down into segments, spread those segments out over several weeks, and this year I got everything done early Friday morning.

A lot of people have issues with these oppressive, external types of deadlines that force you to do things you don't like to do. Instead of acting disempowered by the limiting notion of rules, it helps to consider all rules as agreements made by choice. If you want to live and work here in the United States, you have to either follow these rules, or face the consequences. That's not a very inspiring point of view. If instead you imagine yourself as a key member of society and that you've saved a life today by funding the fire department with your tax money, it empowers your commitment to do the task. You can use this frame shifting technique to get motivated toward any deadlines you're not too fond of. Imagine what agreements you've made a commitment to and then think of something great that will come out of that agreement.

Deadlines can also help to strengthen your commitment. We all have goals and desires. We talk about them a lot after New Years Eve when we make our resolutions. For the vast majority, those resolutions fade about halfway through February because they're vague and usually lack structure. If you really want the important and meaningful things in your life to come true and if you're really committed to the results that you want to achieve in business, then you have to practice identifying specific, measurable goals. Create deadlines for yourself, write them down and share them with someone you can count on to hold you accountable.  For example, I have a commitment to continue developing content, this blog and weekly Monday Morning Mini Motivation Meetings. By having listeners dial in every Monday at 8:15 a.m, I'm “on the hook” to keep coming up with new motivational material.

Find someone who can serve as an external force that can support you, believes in you and will ask if you are doing what it takes to reach those results. If you don't know anybody that can provide that external support for you, you're welcome to contact me and we'll set something up together.