COMMITMENT / DEDICATION

Related States & Conditions | Syntonic | Dystonic

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your heart.
The Bible
c. 367 CE, Christian Sacred Text
Ecclesiastes 9:10

He did it with all his heart, and prospered.
Ibid.
2 Chronicles 31:21

Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing yet they give their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. And then it is gone. But to sacrifice what you are and live without belief, that's more terrible than dying.
Joan of Arc
c. 1412-1431, French Heroine, Saint

We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
1613-1680, French Moralist, Epigrammatist

When it becomes necessary to do a thing, the whole heart and soul should go into the measure, or not attempt it.
Thomas Paine
1737-1809, English-American Political Theorist, Pamphleteer
The Rights of Man

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man would have believed would have come his way. Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it. Begin it now.
Goethe
1749-1832, German Poet, Novelist, Dramatist, Philosopher, Scientist

Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well as now.
P. T. Barnum
1810-1891, American Showman, Writer

Do you wish to become rich? You may become so if you desire it in no half-way, but thoroughly. Do you wish to master any science or accomplishment? Give yourself to it and it lies beneath your feet. This world is given as the prize for the men in earnest; and that which is true of this world, is truer still of the world to come.
Frederick Robertson
1816-1853, English Anglican Cleric

I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.
Vincent Van Gogh
1853-1890, Dutch Painter

If you set to work in right earnest, then you are sure to be successful. Whoever works at a thing heart and soul not only achieves success in it, but through his absorption in that he also realizes the supreme Truth – Brahman.
Vivekananda
1863-1902, Indian Guru, Writer
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 1984-1987 , 7:202

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.
James Allen
1864-1912, British/American Essayist

Do continue to believe that with your feeling and your work you are taking part in the greatest ; the more strongly you cultivate in yourself this belief, the more reality and the world go forth from it.
Rainer Maria Rilke
1875-1926, Czech-Austrian Poet
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke, 1892-1910

The attainment of wholeness requires one to stake one's whole being. Nothing less will do; there can be no easier conditions, no substitutes, no compromises.
Carl Jung
1875-1961, Swiss Psychologist, Theorist

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It's not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller
1880-1968, American Writer, Educator

You can be an ordinary athlete by getting away with less than your best. But if you want to be great, you have to give it all you've got – your everything.
Swami Sivananda
1887-1963, Indian Guru

He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.
Walter Lippmann
1889-1974, American Journalist
A Preface to Morals

Commitment means that it is possible for a man to yield the nerve center of his consent to a purpose or cause, a movement or an ideal, which may be more important to him than whether he lives or dies.
Howard Thurman
1889-1981, African-American Cleric, Writer
Disciplines of the Spirit , 1963

It is all very well to talk of being unhurt, keeping yourself clear, triumphant; it can't be. It isn't true. To give your faith, that is the risk.
Katharine Hathaway
1890-1942, American Writer
The Journals and Letters of the Little Locksmith , 1946

Once you pledge, don't hedge.
Nikita Khrushchev
1894-1971, Russian Premier

Considering the chaos and disorder in the world – both outwardly and inwardly – seeing all this misery, starvation, war, hatred, brutality – many of us have asked what one can do … One feels one must be committed … When you commit yourself, you are committed to a part and therefore the part becomes important and that creates division. Whereas, when one is involved completely, totally with the whole problem of living, action is entirely different. Then action is not only inward, but also outward; it is in relationship with the whole problem of life.
Krishnamurti
1895-1986, Indian Philosopher, Writer
You Are the World , 1972

To die for the revolution is a one-shot deal; to live for the revolution means taking on the more difficult commitment of changing our day-to-day life patterns.
Frances M. Beal
1898-1953, African-American Civil Rights Activist

To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don't be.
Golda Meir
1898-1978, Russian/American Israeli Prime Minister

The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it not without doubt but in spite of doubt.
Rollo May
1909-1994, American Psychoanalyst

Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes … but no plans.
Peter Drucker
1909-, Austrian/American Management Educator, Writer

To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It is easy to say no, even if saying no means death.
Jean Anouilh
1910-1987, French Dramatist
Antigone

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
Vince Lombardi
1913-1970, American Football Coach

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
Lombardi

It takes a deep commitment to change and an even deeper commitment to grow.
Ralph Ellison
1914-1994, African-American Writer

I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got.
Walter Cronkite
1916-, American TV Journalist

To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger.
James Baldwin
1924-1987, African-American Writer, Dramatist, Poet, Civil Rights Activist
"My Dungeon Shook," The Fire Next Time , 1962

Commit yourself to a dream … Nobody who tries to do something great but fails is a total failure. Why? Because he can always rest assured that he succeeded in life's most important battle – he defeated the fear of trying.
Robert Schuller
1926-, American Cleric, Writer

The commitments we make to ourselves and to others, is the essence and clearest manifestation of our proactivity.
Stephen Covey
1932-, American Management Educator, Writer
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , 1989

Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.
Covey
First Things First

Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.
Woody Allen
1935-, American Film Director, Writer, Actor, Humorist

Commitment is the foundation, the bedrock of any genuinely loving relationship … Deep commitment does not guarantee the success of the relationship but does help more than any other factor to assure it.
M. Scott Peck
1936-, American Psychiatrist, Writer
The Road Less Travelled , 1978

If you don't invest very much, then defeat doesn't hurt very much, and winning is not very exciting.
Dick Vermeil
1936-, American Football Coach, Sportscaster

Liberation should not be a license to be a perpetual adolescent. If you deny yourself commitment then what can you do with your life?
Harvey Fierstein
1954, American Dramatist, Actor, Gay Activist
in Newsweek

Over-seriousness is a warning sign for mediocrity and bureaucratic thinking. People who are seriously committed to mastery and high performance are secure enough to lighten up.
Bill Gates
1955-, American Entrepreneur

Individuals who succeed have a belief in the power of commitment. If there's a single belief that seems almost inseparable from success, it's that there's no great success without commitment. If you look at successful people in any field, you'll find they're not necessarily the best and the brightest, the fastest and the strongest. You'll find they're the ones with the most commitment.
Anthony Robbins
1960-, American Writer, Motivational Speaker

You have to stick to your plan … very few people get anywhere by taking shortcuts. Very few people win the lottery to gain their wealth. It happens, but the odds certainly aren't with them. More people get it the honest way, by setting their goals and committing themselves to achieving those goals.
Michael Jordan
1961-, African-American Basketball Player, Actor

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Wisdom for The Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, © 2004