Commitment

Qualith of the month for April

Dictionaries tell us that commitment is "an agreement or pledge to do something in the future." The word's meaning in the realm of philosophy also spills over into our everyday use: "a decisive moral choice that involves a person in a definite course of action."

A PCC member said that commitment is the quality that lets you "decide upon something important and stay with it. Even when times are tough you keep your agreement with a person." It was the view of another member that a committed person "will identify a worthwhile goal and will do everything that is ethical to reach to goal, including overcoming as many challenges as are encountered on the path to the attainment of the goal."

A Worthington high school student spoke more picturesquely:

"I think that commitment is the next big step up from involvement. I think that many times we become passively involved in projects without truly committing. To bring about enduring change in a situation, we must have both the will and the courage to take our involvement to the next step. As my Mom often tells me, the difference between involvement and commitment can be seen in an eggs-and-ham breakfast. The chicken was involved — the pig was committed!"

Other voices tell us more about this quality:

	Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:		"Unless one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred."
	Peter Drucker:		"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans."
	Vince Lombardi:		"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."
	Faye Wattleton:		"My satisfaction comes from my commitment to advancing a better world."
	Anthony Robbins:		"I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a neverending commitment to act until they achieve."
	Stephen R. Covey:		"As we make and keep commitments, even small commitments, we begin to establish an inner integrity that gives us the awareness of self-control and the courage and strength to accept more of the responsibility for our own lives. By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater than our moods. The power to make and keep commitments to ourselves is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness."

What does it mean for you to be a committed person? Your family a committed family? Your institution a committed institution? Your community a committed community?