Commit to Doing Better

"Commitment to do BETTER is one of the most important things one can do."

The words of this Hermetic Contemplation Card by Sovereign Ipsissimus Dave Lanyon are SO good.

Most of us want to do better. We think about it all the time. I'm going to be more patient. I'm going to call my mom more. I'm going to stop being so hard on myself. Then life gets busy, the wanting fades, and nothing really changes.

Wanting to do better and committing to do better are two very different things.

Somewhere along the way, mediocrity became normal. We get up, get through the day, scroll, go to bed, and do it all again. I don't think that happens because people are bad or lazy. I think it happens because we stop committing. We drift. And when we drift, we settle.

Commitment is a decision. It says, this matters to me, and I'm going to keep showing up for it. When it's inconvenient. When no one is watching. When I'd rather not.

Here is what I've learned about commitment. It isn't something you do once. You commit, you fall short, and you commit again. And again. That is what makes it real. The people I admire most aren't the ones who never slip. They're the ones who keep coming back to what they said they would do.

So what would it look like to truly commit to doing better?

It might mean committing to be gentler with yourself. So many of us speak to ourselves in ways we would never speak to someone we love. You can decide that stops today.

It might mean committing to think of others. Holding the door. Really listening when a friend is talking. Letting someone go ahead of you in line.

It might mean committing to reach out. Send a text to someone you haven't talked to in a while and simply say, "Good morning. I was thinking of you." It might be the only kind word they hear all day. Then do it again next week.

It might mean committing to kindness when you would rather be right.

None of this costs a thing. Most of us have so much. A roof over our heads. Food on the table. People who love us. We already have what we need to do better. What's usually missing is the commitment.

Mediocrity is comfortable. It asks nothing of us. But I don't believe any of us came here to be comfortable. We came here to grow, to love more, and to become more of who we really are. That takes commitment.

So here is my invitation. Choose one thing. Just one. Say it out loud, write it down, or tell someone you trust. Then keep it today. Tomorrow, choose it again. If you miss a day, don't beat yourself up. Simply recommit.

You won't be perfect. I'm not either. But every time you keep a commitment to do better, the world gets a little brighter, and someone else sees that it's possible for them too.

What will you commit to doing better today?

With light, Wendy

P.S. If you'd like to walk this path with others, join me for a free preview night of Circle of Light on Tuesday, December 1, 7 to 8:30 pm, at the Modern Mystery School space in Edina.