Shot in the Arm from WW book

[Guest guest]

Get What You Want This past Sunday my in-laws celebrated their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary. Yes, I did say sixty-seventh! Spending this amount of time with one person seems mind-boggling to most of us. When asked how they've managed to stay together, my mother-in-law replies, "We didn't know any better!" (Obviously keeping a sense of humor at all times has been a big part of their relationship! ) Besides love and hard work, I've witnessed a sense of commitment between these two. But it got me thinking: Why do so many of us shy away from this word in all different areas of our lives? Some of the definitions I found for commitment might give us some insight: commitment n 1 the act of pledging or engaging; 2 the act of binding yourself to a course of action or another person; 3 the act of consigning a person to prison or a mental institution I have a news flash for you: We all need a sense of commitment in our lives. Don't get nervous; I am not saying it has to be to another person. Let's start with gaining a sense of commitment to ourselves. We continually talk about goals, Winning Outcomes, and what we really want out of life. And the only way we'll ever get to the finish line is to continually revisit this subject. So get your pencils

ready. What do you want? What's it going to take to get what you want? This is where it sometimes gets a little tough. We often don't like the answer to this question. It might take some hard work. But unless you are willing to make a commitment to yourself, I can almost guarantee you won't get what you say you want. So how long will it take? I'm not asking for sixty-seven years, but I would like you to commit to one year (with the option to renew, of course). What's it going to cost? Time, focus, planning, Positive Self-Talk, Mental Rehearsing, and the most important-a good Motivation Strategy! If you're not familiar with this last tool, picture yourself already

having achieved whatever it is you set out to do-running a marathon, building a house, losing weight, driving in your new convertible. Whatever you dream is, realize how good it feels to have achieved it, and then think back on the commitment it took. Once you've achieved it, the commitment is always worth it. It's important that we keep visiting the good feelings daily to keep us passionate about what it is we want. You are definitely worth the commitment. Don't be afraid of the commitment. We'll help one another along the way.