It’s January first, “Day One” of 2018, and of course that means it’s time to do the annual dance of New Year Commitments. “Um, Matt, it’s a New Year Resolution not a ‘commitment'” you say, and normally you’d be right. But let’s think about the words “resolution” and “commitment”. Dictionary wise, they’re about the same;
Resolution, noun “a firm decision to do or not to do something”
Commitment, noun, “the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.: ”
But what’s more interesting is the synonyms for each word:
Resolution: synonyms: intention · resolve · decision · intent · aim · plan · commitment · pledge · promise
Commitment: synonyms: dedication · devotion · allegiance · loyalty · faithfulness · fidelity
There’s a subtle difference there. A resolution is an intention to do something, but a commitment is a dedication. It’s holding yourself accountable to the resolution. So, at least in my view, the New Year should start with a commitment to do something, and not just the intention. We intend to do the right thing all the time. However, we only really dedicate ourselves to those things that matter to us. Intent is a great thing as it lets us feel good that we want to do something, but it doesn’t have any, well, commitment to it. To that end, here is my commitment for this site / podcast / blog:
In 2018, I commit to:
- Writing at least one entry per week
- Recording and posting at least one podcast session per month.
Whew. There. That wasn’t so hard. I’ve made a commitment. Now to follow up on it.