Commitment and Follow Through

“I do!”  Those two words are instantly recognized as the moment two people ceremoniously commit to each other during a wedding.  Two people in love, getting ready to join (formally) together for the future.  We recently went to a friend’s daughter’s wedding and my thoughts wandered to thinking about the times when we commit and the ability to actually follow through.

The key question is - What does it mean to commit, and does it stop once you say yes?  Coming up on my 27^th wedding anniversary, the commitment to Debbie has never stopped.  Being a father (yes, the commitment was before the action) is a commitment to Debbie and both Gab and Bec.  Anyone I have worked for, I have been committed to provide to the best of my ability towards the company’s success.  Now that I am a volunteer president, I have committed to serve my community / congregation.  Saying “Yes” is the easy the part; it is what follows that proves if one is up for the challenge, willing to exceed expectation and prepared to own up (take responsibility) for one’s actions.  The saying “actions speak louder than words” is true when following up on the commitment.  For all activities, whether we realize it or not, there is a bar set for us (expectations), it is how we strive to surpass the bar, or our attitude towards our goals and the perception of us that determines our success.  Our own commitments and actions start on day one.

To evaluate the commitment of others, this becomes more of a two-fold task.  First is our perception of their commitment (based on the things mentioned previously) and holding them accountable for their actions.  The first is easier.  We are all critics of what we see, are we not?  The second, however, is more difficult.  This includes providing constructive feedback and advice and reviewing their actions, all in relation to the expectations set up front and the outline of the role.  Yes, employee reviews go under this. The first time I did an employee review, I had no idea what I was doing.  Since then, I have learned to be better at it.  Being a parent?  Yup, that’s right, this is something we help and teach our children.

As we watched the beautiful ceremony, both the bride and the groom looked so happy, standing under the chupah, smiling as the Rabbi finished up the ceremony.  And with those two words, “I do,” both young adults publicly made their commitments, first the bride to the groom and then the groom to the bride.  Together, they have taken that all important step and now comes the work of creating a lifetime together.