There are four root emotions: glad, sad, mad and scared. Scared is the fear of losing something and not knowing what is going to take its place. The definition of scared describes change pretty well. Whenever we commit to something, we bring about change. Committing to a person changes the nature of the relationship. Committing to a new job means that your work life will be significantly altered. Publicly committing to an idea exposes you to those in opposition. Our brains are wired to prefer the safety and security of the known; the unknown causes the fear center of the brain, the amygdala, to light up like a Christmas tree. We don't want to lose what we know, even if staying with the status quo hurts us and our organizations. We make conscious commitments to change, but often there are hidden commitments that prevent us from fully engaging the change. A part of us doesn't want to lose what we know. We may be miserable, but it is what we know. If we change, we don't know for sure things will work out for the best. We have to take a leap of faith.
The truth of the matter is without fully committing to something, whether it be a person, a situation, an idea, we greatly limit the possibility of success. It is like only putting your foot in a pool and expecting to learn how to swim. We have fully commit ourselves to the process of learning to change our situation - being willing to fully submerge yourself in the water. Is there a chance you could drown? Yes, but what are the realistic chances of that happening? There are many things you could do to minimize the risk of drowning. The bottom-line is you still have to face your fears, have a little faith, and jump in.
I will leave it to Goethe to very eloquently summarize the point of this blog posting:
Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
Always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative
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 occured.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner
of unforseen incidents and meetings
And material assistance,
which no man could have dreamt
would have come his way.