Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 4 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 100% Commitment: The “no-exceptions rule”
— From The Success Principles™: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield
“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Ken Blanchard
Being 100% committed to something is much easier than being 99% committed or less, says personal development and business guru Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles. This is a very simple concept, “yet you’d be surprised how many people wake up every day and fight within themselves over whether or not to keep their commitments, stick to their disciplines, or carry out their actions plans.”
Why the fight?
Because they haven’t yet made the full commitment. There is no need to spend the mental energy wrestling with ourselves every day as we decide whether to do something or not. “Once you make a 100% commitment to something, there are no exceptions. It’s a done deal. Nonnegotiable. Case closed! Over and out… [You] never have to think about it again. There are no exceptions no matter what the circumstances. It ends the discussion, closes that door, permits no other possibility.”
This is tremendously liberating and it makes life much simpler and easier because there is no internal debate as to whether you’ll do something or not. “It’s like brushing your teeth before you go to bed. You always do it, no matter what. If you find yourself in bed and you have forgotten, you get out of bed and brush them. It doesn’t matter how tired you are or how late it is. You just do it.”
Eliminating choice and making 100% commitment can free up much time and energy that can go into other things to bring about excellence in your life and business. Canfield powerfully makes the case for why 100% commitment is so important and necessary, as he points out why the “no-exceptions rule” is critical in many areas, such as in our health and the workplace:
A commitment to just 99.9% quality would mean:
- One hour of unsafe drinking water every month.
- Two unsafe landings at [Chicago’s] O’Hare International Airport each day.
- 16,000 lost pieces of mail per hour.
- 20,000 incorrectly filled drug prescriptions every year.
- 500 incorrect surgical operations performed each week.
- 50 newborn babies dropped at birth by doctors every day.
- 22,000 checks deducted from the wrong account every hour.
- Your heart failing to beat 32,000 times each year!
“Can you see why 100% is such an important percentage? Just think how much better your life and the whole world would work if you were committed to 100% excellence in everything you do.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of an area in your life or business where you have not made a 100% commitment. What does that look like? Where does it fall through the cracks? Where do you wrestle with yourself to do it or not do it? Think of the benefits of committing 100% and having no exceptions: how could this benefit your life and/or your business? Make a list of benefits vs. remaining as you are. Once you are convinced, commit yourself. And as part of that commitment, set a time to review in a near future how you are doing. The further you move along the 100% and the more you review its benefits, the more you’ll want to continue. It’s all about building the habit.
FUTURE: Stay committed to your 100%. Once you have built the habit in one area and it’s firmly entrenched, then move on to another area. The disciplined pursuit of your commitments will lead you to your goals.
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