Commitments

Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, has written a book called "How Will You Measure Your Life."

In it he recounts a story about when he was playing in the final game of a basketball tournament. He discovered that the final game was on Sunday, and he had made a religious promise when he was 16 years old that he would never play a competitive game on Sunday. He talked to his coach and teammates about his moral quandary. They told him that they needed, him and that the extenuating circumstances required a just this once exception to his rule. Christensen held to his conviction and said it was the most important decision of his life.

His final words about the incident still haunt me. He said he learned it is easier to keep your commitments 100% of the time than it is 98% of the time. He is right! And do you know why? Because life is one extenuating circumstance after another.

What commitments do you have that you are unwilling to compromise, ones you will maintain 100% of the time?