Are You Interested or Committed?

ARE YOU INTERESTED OR COMMITTED TO A GOAL?

Living in the NOW .. but thinking about February 2023

In October, Sari? 

Sure am. 

As some of you know, I co-founded and operated a yoga & cycling studio for almost ten years. The top of the year was always the peak month for studio attendance, as anyone who has made their fitness resolutions knows well. As of the first or second week of January, the studio was buzzing a little extra; jam-packed classes, sold out a week in advance, 20-person waitlists, water coolers emptying on the weekends (🤪), and we never had enough sweat towels to give out (double 🤪🤪)

All the things were going right and wrong in the best way possible! 

Frankly, I loved every minute of it. 

By the last week of February, though, things shifted. Our classes weren't as full; we had towels stocked, and the waitlists moved. 

It wasn't because the quality of the classes was poor.

It wasn't because the studio schedule had changed. 

The teachers were still bringing their A-game.  

Those circumstances remained a constant. 

Yoga and Cycling class numbers dipped because new year's resolutions dipped. 

Unless coupled with a commitment to resolve, resolutions don't typically have the foundations to sustain a habit shift. 

Interest in a goal will only get us so far, no matter how much we want to make positive shifts. 

We can support the desired shift by a commitment to a goal (a healthy dose of dedication with a rich why). 

When we make commitments, our energy rises.

Our "feelings" we associate with said commitment fortify. 

Once we repeat an action associated with a commitment, we tell our internal systems that we can do things, and this acknowledgment elevates our confidence.

Once we begin to think about something as a commitment, our energy rises. 

It lives within us a little differently.

Consider how things feel more substantial when we commit to something in our mind and body. 

It feels like a priority. 

And there's a trait called integrity that we begin to value at a whole other level. 

Keeping our word to ourselves and the "commitment" aligns with our desire, and that's living with integrity. 

A desire for Big goals. 

Small goals

Especially the tiny goals because they could be the lowest-hanging fruit to help change our wiring. 

Smaller tasks, actions, and little-improved thoughts are easier to get behind in the beginning.

We start to build belief. 

We are now upgrading our brain pathways from our current thoughts and feelings that have moved us closer to what we desire. 

And sometimes, we have to borrow some beliefs from others. 

That's where coaches like me come in. 

We go into the Gap with you. 

And the gap between where we are and what we want begins to close. The gap is the space between where you are and what you desire. 

Coaching our mind closes the gap. 

When I begin working with clients, they ask:

Sari, how much time will it take me to make this shift? 

My answer is always that it depends. 

It depends on how much attention we pay to what's keeping us from our goals, our ACTUAL desires and the new patterns we can create, and how often we repeat them. 

The most influential work in learning and coaching I've ever done is figuring out what it takes to close the gap. 

Once we understand and apply this to our brains and life, we can change anything we want. 

Two things you can do right now to shift a pattern: 

 1 Are you interested in X, or are you committed?
Are you just interested in yoga or commit to a weekly practice?
Are you just interested in getting a new job, or are you committed to finding a job that you love and that helps you grow? Are you interested in dating again, or do you want to love?

 2 Take one small action TODAY toward your desire based on what you are committed to changing.

 3 Pay attention to your commitment & repeat that same action tomorrow.

 4 Pay attention to your commitment & repeat the same action the day after tomorrow.

 5 Pay attention to your commitment & repeat that same action the day that follows.

 6 You know what to do. Keep going to what your commitment is.

Keep me posted! I would love to hear from you!