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Warrior Mind Podcast

31/12/2016

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Commitment and Personal Performance: Warrior Mind Podcast #315

Over four years and going strong!  With over 400,000 downloads from over 9 countries and 5 continents’…. this is commitmentthe Warrior Mind Podcast.

In this episode of the Warrior Mind Podcast I’m going to go to go over the 3rd C of mental toughness, Commitment and how it affects personal performance.

Sometimes described as “stickability” this is the component which describes the extent to which an individual is inclined to make promises and is determined to keep those promises.

Those promises will almost always have some form of clear goal or target attached to them – they will be measurable in some way. There will be little ambiguity if that promise is not kept. They will be usually be significant in some way, either to the individual or the people with whom the individual is engaged.

The promises can be made to others and they can be promises adopted on behalf of others. Making and keeping promises are an important in developing relationships. They will say “he or she cannot be trusted” if we fail too often. This affects our ability to influence others. We do judge others per their reliability. Others judge us in the same way.

Often these promises are made to ourselves. New Year’s resolutions are a very good and obvious example of this. So is giving up smoking and losing weight.

 Commitment is a measure of how and why we set goals.

Its significance in the Mental Toughness model is that it represents an aspect of mind-set which determines, when asked to do something which is targeted, is your instinctive response:

  • I’ll go for that, I will accept that as a commitment and I’ll do what it takes? Or
  • That looks tough – I’ll never manage that? I’ll look stupid if I fail, I had better think of reasons for not making this commitment

Individuals with a high degree of commitment will believe they can consistently deliver what is important in the scheme of things. Measurement of some form will be important to them. It provides standards and targets against which they can benchmark themselves.

More than this they may be motivated and excited by the ability to measure things. Simply having a measure may excite them. Quite often all they need to get going is a goal or a target. It is enough to motivate them to work out how to achieve it and how to deploy resources to make sure it is achieved.

 Enjoy this podcast on commitment and mental toughness

As a piece of language it equates broadly with terms like:

  • Tenacity
  • Persistence
  • Determination
  • Perseverance
  • Doggedness

All describe an aspect of commitment.

There can also be a link to conscientiousness, one of the so called Big 5 personality factors. Conscientiousness reflects the individual’s degree of self-discipline. That is likely to be a component of an individual’s drive to perform.

We see commitment most clearly in sports where athletes will often be motivated by the concept of achieving a “personal best”. They will often use this as a way of motivating themselves to do better so that they can achieve a greater goal.

Achieving comparatively clear and objective goals and targets provides a form of satisfaction for highly committed people. It’s how they perceive progress and achievement.

It’s also a common factor in the workplace. Most workplaces are now targeted so that people known something about their efficiency and their effectiveness. Measurement underpins the quality management concept and the continuous improvement ethos.

It can also be at the heart of most performance management processes. These are often based on the notion that goals and targets, once set out and agreed are in themselves motivating.

To quote the management guru, Peter Drucker: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

The world of education too can seem to be almost entirely about goals and targets – from completing assignments on time through to passing tests and exams and achieving qualifications.

Those who have a low level of commitment may be people who have a deep rooted dislike of goals and targets. They will avoid setting or agreeing to goals and targets – often because they know that failure will brand them as “losers”.

It’s thought to be one reason why some people routinely procrastinate. Putting something off can reduce stress – it puts off the “evil day” by when something ought to have been done. The explanation then is “I would have done it if …..”. It can provide a safe way to fail without losing face.

There is a suggestion that this may be linked to learned helplessness. Associated behaviors might include:

  • Giving up easily …… and finding an apparently valid reason for doing so.
  • They may try to ignore goals and targets altogether.
  • They may distract attention from the goal. Sometimes substituting it with a less important but easily achieved goal. “I would have done what I said I would but this other thing came along and I had to drop what I was doing”
  • They may lack self-discipline and will respond to competing pressures, often responding to the last person who asked them to do something.
  • In some cases, individuals find goals and targets intimidating, particularly those in the form of tests and examinations.

 Those who have high levels of commitment like goals and targets. They simply describe to them what success looks like. And they know that, if they succeed, then they can legitimately claim to be successful. It’s a driver and the individual will do all they can to set clear targets and do whatever it takes to achieve those targets. Measures, goals and targets excite them.

In education, it can often be evident that some students are motivated by exams and tests –they see these as opportunities to show what they can do. Motivated individuals often see goals and targets as a source of motivation – they will use setting personal bests as a driver. Athletes commonly do this.

And once again we see behavior common to high levels across all the 4 C’s emerge – they work hard and they “go for it”. They will do whatever it takes and, where appropriate, they may drive others to make sure the goal is achieved. They won’t fail because they didn’t put the effort in.

And they can be good at managing their personal energy. They know it’s an important quality that helps to get things done.

Having a high level of commitment can have downsides but they won’t always emerge as such. Self-aware individuals can cope with heir “weaknesses”. And of course there may be other aspects of the individual’s personality which ameliorate any negatives.

You Can’t Improve What You Can’t Measure

The Mental Toughness Questionnaire is an assessment that determines someone’s Mental Strength…at this moment.   The questionnaire also provides tips on improving your Mental Strength.  You can request the Mental Toughness Assessment by going to http://MentalStrengthMastery.com

Request an Introductory Consultation right now if you wish to learn additional information on expectations, confidence and acceptance.

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