Now that I’m on the other side of my decision to leap, I’m recognizing what my former boss and mentor, Bob G., coined as the “commitment effect.” He is a big Goethe fan and if there’s one lesson that he taught me in the time I worked for him it’s this: “the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.” In other words, commit and the way forward opens up. And once you’re committed to change, it becomes impossible to stay on the same track.
Commitment breeds magic. It can’t be intellectualized. It isn’t logical. It’s not even explainable. It just happens. We are the catalyst of our own process of change. Until we commit, we can’t expect the Universe to do a damn thing for us. We have to be the driver; the Universe has to know we mean business and that we’re serious about change before it will put its energy into us.
This isn’t easy. I know it takes a great deal of faith and guts to believe this and live it. The lead up is terrifying. When we back up and stare into that moment just before we take our running start toward the cliff, our heart is beating, our blood is pumping, and doubt still has the chance to creep in. We can still turn back, and many times we do. We step out of the starting blocks and take a long hard look at the insane journey we’re about to take.
Our anticipation of the leap is much scarier than the leap itself. Our minds have this wonderful ability to invent horrific scenarios. Turn the mind off and crank up the wisdom that’s planted deep inside. That’s where the truth lies.
You know what you need to do; take your mark, get set, and go. Your commitment will carry you.
Christa Avampato 