Thought for the Term: Commitment

Involvement and commitment are often used interchangeably, however, they can be considered as conflicting concepts. Your goals and aspirations can be obtained through many different routes, though it’s through the committed route where you will see best results.

To use the example of education, in order to achieve grades that you aspire to gain, you must make the conscious decision between being committed or taking the backseat and following along for the ride. If you want to succeed one must invest yourself fully. You can’t afford to only be involved; being involved means you’re not committed enough. Being truly committed means putting your entire effort and energy into the task at hand. It also means committing in a number of ways, committing your time, your energy and your focus.

Moving away from a strictly educational form of commitment, many people likely invoke commitment as a regular occurrence without any knowledge of doing so. Whether that be within their sporting team, social clubs, or even just to their friends. Commitment engulfs us, from the big to the small acts of commitment and everything in-between. I personally find the best way to stay committed is to find joy in the task, and sometimes that joy can simply be finishing the task, knowing that you have invested your best effort. On a larger scale, that joy can come in the satisfaction of not only completing a task but knowing that it is an active step towards achieving life goals.

Furthermore, something I’ve recently come to appreciate since becoming a year 11, is the plain and simple fact that I know that if I don’t commit someone else will. Living in a highly competitive world, we have adapted to maintain a constant momentum, whereby you are in a silent and intangible competition with your peers. That’s why having the highest level of commitment possible gives you the best chance of success and reaching your desires.

Overall, we all experience moments in our day where staying committed is a challenge. Sometimes it feels like a ‘fight or flight’ moment, where you feel at odds with yourself to surpass mere involvement, as if facing a battle. My best advice is to recognise the competitive world that we live in, recognise the desire and necessary steps towards reaching your goals, but most importantly, find the joy in commitment.

Thomas Ashcroft

Spartan House Captain

St Birinus School