lifeshifting #8 - growing your own committment

Commitment, dedication, passion, obsession- these all seem to be words bandied about the successful in any field, by high achievers and people prominent in any area you care to mention, from business to astrophysics. Yet who has not felt daunted when hearing about these super committed obsessional people? I mean, when do they get time to even read a book, let alone spend a few hours having a drink with friends in the pub? They seem so busy, so committed, so dedicated- just what’s going on? Are there two types- those destined to be averagely interested in things and those blessed with passion? No. All those ‘high achievers’ and successes started just as ordinary as anyone else. Not particularly keen or dedicated at all. What happened was that they found what they really wanted to do and then dedication flowered. You don’t have to feel 'dedicated'. You don’t have to fake passion like a fast-food employee doomed to get excited about some piece of processed beef. Dedication naturally follows from focusing on something that you like and want to do. It's not an emotion, it's an inclination that grows from a pattern of action. Which is our aim in the first place. Dedication flowers when distractions are weeded out, when you stop putting things in the way of what you want to do. It’s really strange, almost disconcerting to feel an powerful interest blooming. It feels so natural- because it is. There is no accident one feels in the derivation of the word enthusiasm from the Greek for divinely inspired. Suddenly you don’t want to watch TV movies- you’d rather be studying Spanish verbs, restaurant finance or modern dance. Momentum breeds momentum. Feedback in an area you like and self-chose, will be positive feedback- the more you do it the more you will want to do it. But you must apply the second principle of Lifeshifting: remove the barriers. If you constantly interrupt your obsession it will wither and die. Nurture it gently and it will grow into something monstrous…