Has it ever happened to you that you intended to do something and then you didn’t do it?
It certainly has happened to me. And it still happens. What is the problem?
Some time ago, my coach sent me an audio recording of Steve Chandler explaining the distinction between an intention and a commitment. It is kind of self-explanatory when somebody points it out for you and pulls the issue out of the blind spot. An intention is something you intend to do – sometimes, when you will have time and you will feel motivated. A commitment is something you commit yourself to do! Nothing more, nothing less. Just. Do. It.
What stroke me was the following. I know commitments, I practice them a lot with other people. But when it comes to the promises I make to myself about myself, it seems they are quite often just intentions. They get postponed. They are assigned a lower priority than the promises made to the others. They are not commitments. Because by definition, commitments get fulfilled.
My coach helped me see what I hadn’t seen before. Now I can do something about the issue. This is what I as a coach do for my clients, too: showing them what they can’t yet see on their own. When they see, the corrective action is often self-evident.
What is your experience with intentions and commitments?
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