Commitment

            For this post, I’m going to address one of my biggest pet peeves—people who do not take commitments seriously.  Commitments come in all shapes sizes, ranging from as trivial as meeting up for lunch to as serious as marriage.  Yet, no matter what the commitment, they all share a common urgency.  Men and women of their word adhere to their commitments no matter how big or small.

            Perhaps the most common form of commitment can be found in the simplest of relationships.  In any friendship, there is an implicit agreement—a mutual respect that both parties must acknowledge in order to maintain a healthy coexistence.  I would do anything for my true friends, and likewise, I’d expect that they would do anything for me.

            What bothers me more than anything, are those who make commitments that they have no intention whatsoever of keeping.  There is no difference between debtors who spend too much money on their credit cards, and guys who tell girls they’re the one just to get them in bed.  These people have an overt disrespect and disdain for the people with whom they interact.  These are the people who ask, “What can you do for me?”

            A true friend, on the other hand, asks, “What can I do for you?”  Someone who is truly committed to a friend, an organization, or a career does everything in their power to better their cause.  They don’t just run through the motions—they come early and stay late.  These are the people who take it upon themselves to make things happen when it is clear that no one else will.

            So, don’t be that guy who’s just there—or even worse the one that’s not.  Don’t be that guy who couldn’t care less.  Don’t be that guy who wishes he were somewhere else.  In the end, if you don’t want to be there, chances are no one’s going to want you.