“Each great human accomplishment begins with a dream” – Terry Orlick
“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work” – Vince Lombardi
These two statements go a long way to explain what is meant by commitment. Dreams are about ambition, desire, interest, and vision. Turning dreams into reality requires a full commitment. Commitment involves passion, persistence, determination, dedication, courage, motivation, willpower and hard work.
Passion for what you do is what gives you the energy to pursue your goals with full commitment every day. There is a saying that if you have passion for what you do, you will not work another day in your life. People with passion cannot wait to get out of bed to tackle their goals. The work is not an inconvenience. It’s an investment.
Calvin Coolidge said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Almost everybody involved in sport has a dream. Why do some people work hard in pursuit of their dream while others give up or simply don’t try in the first place? Unfortunately, the route to achieving success is a hard one demanding sacrifice and energy. If it were easy, we would not value our achievements or those of others so highly.
Determination is drive. It is the mindset that impels you to make things happen. It is the power of your intent. Determination is a function of having clear goals, whether they are short- term or long- term goals. Those short on motivation has nothing driving them forward; no dream, no well-defined goal, no desire or need.
Commitment tends to be stronger when the motivation to achieve a dream comes from within. If you are challenged or excited by your dream, you are more likely to put in the hard work that is necessary for success. Inner drive seems to be stronger than external motivators like prizes, prestige or doing it for others. This does not mean external factors are not important. There are many examples throughout sport of outside forces providing the motivation for outstanding performances. For many, the motivating factor is money. But this external motivation tends to boost performance only in the short – term. When you are chasing a dream that requires a long- term commitment, a desire from within is a very powerful source.
It takes courage to stay committed. Commitment is fueled by energy. The more intense your desire to be successful, the more energy you will put into achieving your goals. This will influence how often and how hard you train and your persistence to keep going, especially when things get rough. If you are like most people, your energy is diffused and spread over many areas of your life. If you want to get the best out of yourself in pursuit of your dreams, you need to harness most of your energy to that end.
With commitment it’s a case of actions speaking louder than words. You often have to train when you’d rather be doing something else. I remember Monica Seles back at Bollettieri’s asking me to set up the ball machine for her to practice angle shots on Saturdays when the rest of the kids went to the movie theatre. You may have to follow schedules you don’t like. You will have to overcome setbacks as the road to glory is seldom a smooth one. “The arrow that hits the bullseye is the result of a hundred misses” – Ancient Proverb.
Above all, you have to prepare thoroughly for those rare moments of success. You spend much more time training than competing, so, patience is important. An athlete can spend four years preparing for the Olympic Games and compete for a few minutes if they get there. On the other hand, equally committed athletes often miss major championships by fractions of a second or through injury, having spent years in pursuit of their goals.
Commitment does not guarantee success. There is however great satisfaction in knowing that you gave your best, because it takes courage to commit to being the best that you can be. The majority of people lack this courage. They hold back because of fear of failure. People who are afraid to fail never give total commitment, so they avoid the hurt and risk that results from falling short of their targets. By holding back, they have a ready- made excuse if things do not work out according to plan.
Commitment is the engine that drives you toward your dreams. After you establish where you want to go and what it’s going to take to get you there, then you must start up your engine. Setting targets or goals is a very effective way of guiding you on your journey. It gives you direction and a sense of achievement as each target is reached. Setting goals also directs and focuses your energy. It is difficult to stay motivated all the time. Sometimes adversity sets in like injuries, slumps in performance, personal crisis or financial crisis. The athlete with both short and long- term goals is more likely to survive such a crisis. If you have no direction, you are likely to get bored, frustrated or depressed.
Remember that:
- commitment is the effort and energy that goes into turning goals into reality.
- the intensity of one’s commitment tends to be stronger when it comes from within, although there are external motives and rewards to encourage this internal drive.
- commitment is a vital ingredient in achieving success.
- goal setting is the primary strategy for directing effort and energy
It can be said of successful people that:
- they know where they want to go.
- they recognize where they are now.
- they understand what it will take to reach their goals.
- they commit themselves to getting there.
Rhythm & Flow Tennis 