187: Are You Interested or Are You Committed?

SHOW DESCRIPTION

There is a vast difference between people who are interested and those that are committed. Interested people will always say “That sounds cool. I wish that I could do that.” Committed People will say, “That sounds cool,” and then find a way to make it happen.

For us, Podcasting always sounded cool. At some point, everyone involved has said that podcasting “sounds cool” or “sounds fun.” At some point, our interest shifted to commitment the moment we stopped talking about it and started doing it. Podcasting is not a free endeavor. We haven’t monetized anything in our podcast to date. Each of us invests our time and money to this commitment. We each find value in our product. Value that outweighs the cost of spent time and money.

We all show interests in something, but only those who move beyond the interest and start applying action are showing they are committed. This is true in relationships as well. There are people who say they are interested in their relationships and those that actively work on them. Rohit and Kyle always challenge me on my relationship status. Single and not ready to mingle is what they call it. These notes will probably be news to them, but I have been in 3 relationships since I joined the podcast. One where I was just interested in the relationship, but never worked on it. Another where I was working on it, but the other was not. And another where it was more out of convenience and no actual interest for both of us.

In your relationships, do you actively make time to develop it with your significant other? Do you take time to understand who they are and where they are coming from? Liking someone is way different than being committed to someone. If you are not actively working to make the relationship stronger every day, you are not showing an actual commitment to its success. You will find more trouble in your relationships than if you would dedicate yourself to the relationship.  

I recently committed to a goal of being debt free in 5 years. That means, house paid off, car paid off, no credit cards, and no loans. I was always dreaming of not having to pay bills. My pipedream was to not have to worry about mortgage, or car notes and just collect my money and save it. For years I worked paycheck to paycheck saying “I wish” a lot. After taking some hard looks at my life and the odds that I would win the lottery or marry a sugar momma, I decided to commit to a plan. I picked a path and started working multiple jobs putting everything extra I earn into my debt. It means I will not have much fun or get to hang out as much with friends. Winston Churchill said it best, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” The end goal is far more valuable than the challenges I am facing now.

Interests are fine. However, if all you are is interested, you will never get anywhere. Understand that commitment is hard. It pushes us and challenges us. Sometimes it feels like our commitment will break us. But, If you keep going, even if you feel broken, you will come out in the end stronger and more successful for it. Interests are a good feeling about something you wish for. Commitment is taking the action to make that wish a reality.