The Art of Dedication - the Secret Ingredient of Life
More than one person has told me they admire my willpower to practice health in the amount and way I do. I usually tell them willpower has little to do with it. My overriding dedication to the welfare of my young daughters jump-started my current phase of life over 15 years ago, spurred by my “ah-ha” moment. (“I need to be around for my daughters!”) Now, I have no choice but to practice the way I do. Why? Because it’s what works to keep me healthy and energetic. I’ve tried doing less, or being less vigilant, and it doesn’t work. I can feel my health slipping after a while of not practicing at this level.
When I started this mission, which has since expanded to huge other changes inside me, I dedicated the rest of my life to it. It was, and still is, the most important thing that matters to me. That’s what dedication means to me: pledging myself to something bigger than myself and pursuing a never-ending quest to find ways to better achieve that goal. To this day it fills me with purpose and passion. It is the truest expression of who I am.
Dedication seems to be in short supply in our modern world, or at least dedication to something other than money or fame. For most of our recorded history, dedication, or the slightly stronger word, devotion, was a more common calling in life. It was usually associated with religion or a cause worth fighting for. It is also always associated with the deepest human aspirations like love or freedom or truth. The myths and stories of all the great heroes that Joseph Campbell spent his lifetime “dedicated” to discovering and teaching are all about those who devoted their hearts and souls to a cause or purpose or person (including themselves) or to truth.
These heroes include all the founders of the world’s religions, as well as artists, scientists, and anyone who followed their inner passion in life. All these people followed the wonder that was in their hearts and devoted themselves to constantly uncovering more and sharing what they found. Each and every one of them encountered resistance, met with suffering, overcame obstacles, and usually ended up a long way away from where they started, especially as a result of inner change.
I would go so far as to say that our human souls are built for dedication, for this passion, and without it being part of our lives we lose out on a vital aspect of the experience of life. Finding out what matters to you and dedicating yourself to it, with as little compromise as possible, is the best way to find out more about yourself and what makes you tick. I certainly have found that the connection to something bigger than me, my mission to being a healthy father for my daughters, has filled my life with much more meaning than chasing success and money previously did for me. One reason Alcoholics Anonymous and the other “Anonymous” branches work so well for people is that they connect to a “higher power” and a commitment (read dedication) to treat themselves better by abstaining from their addictive and destructive habits.
A Lesson in Duck Hunting: Where to Begin
So, why have dedication and devotion become rare in our modern world? Perhaps it’s the lure of all the distractions and pleasures we have available to us, including our ever-growing addiction to our devices. Or perhaps it’s because belief in traditional religion has taken a back seat to consumer addiction as a way of life. Or perhaps people are afraid to devote themselves to anything for fear of what others might think of them or because they will miss out on something else if they do.
Many years ago, a wise man said to me that if you are hunting ducks, it is best to aim at one duck rather than the flock as they are taking off. That way, you are most likely to hit that duck and maybe some others around it. If you aim at the flock, all the ducks at once, you might miss them all.
The same goes for dedication, or even simple tasks when there are many to be done. Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of choices. Just choose one. It might be simple questions like “What is the one exercise I should do when there so many I can do?” or “What is the one change I should make to my diet, so I can start eating healthier?”
The answer is to start with one, the one that speaks to you the loudest. It is your action and purpose that move the wheels inside you, that start to change you, not the choice itself. The other choices aren’t going anywhere, and you can tackle them in time, one by one. By engaging in that first step, you awaken all the other possibilities.
