Life's challenges test commitment

“Some 36 percent of respondents said they would focus more on physical fitness, and 31 percent said fiscal fitness,” the article on MSN.com reports.

The article goes on to say that Americans are fatter and deeper in debt than ever before. Obviously there is a vast difference between making a commitment and keeping a commitment, yet a commitment is only a commitment if it is kept.

The difference between making a commitment and keeping a commitment comes in two parts: understanding what is required and recognizing the tests when they come.

Make no mistake; every commitment is eventually tested.

If you’ve ever gone on a diet you know what I’m talking about: You know what’s required (and you also know it’s easy to make the commitment right after eating a big meal). The test comes when you are famished and there is nothing in the fridge but a carton of Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

You know what is required for getting out of debt, and you also know that making the commitment to save money is easy when you have your Christmas bonus in hand. The test comes when you get the new credit card and the new golf clubs you’ve wanted are on sale.

As challenging as it is to commit to reducing your waistline or to increasing your bottom line, one of the most challenging commitments you will ever make is to build and maintain your relationships. This holds true in both your personal and your professional life – because sooner or later, the tests always come.

If you’ve been married more than a few years, you know what I’m talking about. When everything is going your way, for better, for richer and in health, it’s easy to be committed. But bring on the poverty, the sickness and the worse, and the commitment doesn’t seem so worthwhile. These issues always test the commitment to relationships.

The same principles apply in business. The commitment to customer service or commitment to your employees is easy in times of better, richer and in health. The tests simply challenge the commitment. Your choices determine whether you pass the test.

You get stuck when you become committed to something other than what you think you are committed to.

Take sales for example. Are you committed to sales or are you committed to getting and keeping customers? If you are committed to sales you can make a promise today but not deliver tomorrow. Your commitment after all, was to “the sale.” If, however, you are committed to getting and keeping customers, you will do what is required to get and keep the customer. Those requirements mean follow up, follow through, integrity, and service. The requirements for selling are different from the requirements for getting and keeping customers.

The test comes when a customer blames you for a mistake that wasn’t yours, or when you have to decide whether to make quick money now or more money in the long run. The test comes when you have to ask yourself whether your reputation or your pocketbook is more important.

Your decision to face the conflict and make it right, or your decision to ignore the problem or take the easy route, will be the direct result of the commitment you have made about who you are and what you are committed to.

Getting clear on what you are really committed to will help you make choices that support your purpose rather than reacting to life’s tests.

For those who say that talk about relationships is all “soft skills, fluff or touchy-feely,” I have one comment: Soft skills are hard to learn and fluff is underrated. Nothing, including schools, churches, government entities, corporations, stores, or even the Internet, could exist without the relationships that sustain them. Call it what you must, but face the facts: You can’t have a business, a social life, a family or a career without people who are in some sort of relationship with you.

When you are stuck with any conflicting decision you need only ask yourself one question. This question will get you back on track in your relationships, your business and your life. This question will guide your choices because by your choices you reveal your commitments.

The question is, what are you committed to?

Marlene Chism, president of ICARE Presentations in Springfield, works with companies that want to build strong business relationships and with individuals who want to be better communicators.

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