Booklet.docx

HOW

COMMITMENT SHAPES OUR LIVES

ANGEL JOSEPH & ISHAKU DANIEL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62

We extend our gratitude to the Department of Social Work, Madras Christian College and Dr. Prince Solomon for giving us the opportunity to work on this booklet titled “How Commitment Shapes Our Lives” We really appreciate our family, friends and loved ones. They have encouraged us in one way or the other and helped us make this a reality. We also, express our gratitude to our course mates, I MSW students for their constant support and co-operation in aiding us to complete this module. Above all, we sincerely are grateful to God Almighty for His grace and mercy in helping us complete this booklet.

“Without commitment, you cannot have depth in anything, whether it's a relationship, a business or a hobby.” -

Neil Strauss

PROGRAMME SHEDULE

NO

ACTIVIT Y Video

PROGRAM

OBJECTIVE

Intro

2

Q&A/ Facts about Successful People

Ice Breaker

3

Lecture

Commitment (Part 1)

To show the participants people who have succeeded in because of commitment. To teach the importance of commitment in making an impact Foundation for commitment

4

Lecture

Commitment (Part 2)

5

Interactive Session

Are you Committed?

6

Presentatio n

1

7

8

I. D

TIM E 10

A. J

5

Group will understand the price others pay to achieve their goals

A.J

10

To understand what commitment is.

I.D

15

Mastering Commitment

I.D

10

A.J

20

A.J

10

I.D

5

Group will know what the session is about. Group will know commitment is not an interest or contribution Group will realize what they are committed to Group should be able to reflect their own lives and find the qualities that they need to build Group will be able to clearly decide what they have to commit to Group should understand what commitment is and why they must be committed in life

Qualities of a To teach the committed group the person qualities they most have to be committed Resolutions I commit To commit to a (to (Pledge) goal for a time commitme period. nt) Recap Conclusion To summarize the session

FACILITATOR

OUTPUT Learn about world record breakers in different disciplines

CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Intorduction What is Commitment Theories of Commitment How commitment helps to be a successful person How commitment grows in a person ? What religion says about commitment Commitment to our Parents

8. Qualities of a Committed person : 9. Important facts about commitment 10. Conclusion :

INTRODUCTION When we think about great men and how they’ve impacted our world. It’s obvius that there’s one thing that is common amongst them all. It is ‘commitment’. Every person who has attained some kind of success in an area they’re passionate about, has only been able to do that because they’ve invested a lot in their commitment to that passion. Whether it’s Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher who broke the Guinness World's Record for longest marriage. They were married for 86years, or Ussain Bolt, who is the fastest man in the world, Virt Kohli is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world. Isaac Newton is one of the most influential Scientist of all time, Sir Sigmund Freud, and so many others. All these people are ordinary men driven by commitment.

WHAT IS COMMITMENT? merriam-webster defines ‘commitment’ as: the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled. Social Pyshology defines commitment’ as: the experience of being psychologically attached to something, and intending to continue. The story of the hen and the pig comes to mind when I think of commitment. Once Upon a Time, A Chicken and a Pig lived on a farm. The farmer was very good to them and A Chicken and a Pig lived on a farm. The farmer was very good to them and they both wanted to do something good for him. One day the chicken approached the pig and said, "I have a great idea for something we can do for the farmer! Would you like to help?" The pig, quite intrigued by this, said, "of course! What is it that you propose?" The chicken knew how much the farmer enjoyed a good healthy breakfast. He also knew how little time the farmer had to make a good breakfast. "I think the farmer would be very happy if we made him breakfast." The pig thought about this. While not as close to the farmer, he too knew of the farmer's love for a good breakfast. "I'd be happy to help you make breakfast for the farmer! What do you suggest we make?" The chicken, understanding that he had little else to offer suggested, "I could provide some eggs." The pig knew the farmer might want more, "That's a fine start. What else should we make?" The chicken looked around...scratched his head...then said, "ham? The farmer loves ham and eggs!" The pig, very mindful of what this implied, said, "that's fine, but while you're making a contribution I'm making a real commitment!" We can see that, commitment is beyond just making a promise or sme kind of responsibility. It’s a holistic attachment to a cause or goal, and taking the right steps towards acieving it. It’s more than just check markng a to-do list. It involves our entire being in passionately achieving success. Some people may have an intrerest in something and think that it’s commitment to that thing. But Commitment is bigger than mere interest in something as we just saw above. Acoording to Christopher Agnew, commitment can be defined at its root, as intending to continue in a line of action. There are few theories of commitment that have been proposed by some researchers over the years of studying commitment in relationships.

THEORIES AND TYPOLOGIES OF COMMITMENT Early theories of commitment emphasized the positive factors that led people to continue in a relationship. Factors such as degree of love for a partner and satisfaction with the relationship were held to be important elements in keeping people together. Later theories, while not discounting the critical role of positive factors, included factors that prevent people from leaving a relationship, such as societal disapproval of divorce or not wanting to go through the process of starting over with a new partner. Currently, the most prominent extant theories of relationship commitment are George Levinger’s cohesiveness theory, Caryl Rusbult’s investment model, and Michael Johnson’s tripartite typology. Although these approaches differ, they share some common elements, including the notion that relationships continue because of things that draw us to want to stay with a partner and because of things that prevent us ending the relationship.

Levinger’s Cohesiveness Theory of Commitment Levinger’s Cohesiveness Theory of Commitment George Levinger was particularly interested in understanding processes involved in both keeping relationships (particularly marriages) together and breaking them apart. His cohesiveness model, rooted in Kurt Lewin’s field theory, emphasized the role of two social forces in determining relationship commitment: attraction forces and barrier forces. With respect to forces that attract, Levinger described two types of forces: present attractions and alternative attractions.

Rusbult’s Investment Model of Commitment Rusbult’s Investment Model of Commitment Caryl Rusbult’s theory of commitment is rooted in interdependence theory, proposed by John Thibaut and Harold Kelley in the late 1950s. More specifically, Rusbult uses the interdependence concepts of dependence, comparison level, and comparison level for alternatives as a basis for her investment model of commitment. The investment model holds that commitment is the subjective experience of dependence and is a function of three independent variables: satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Johnson’s Tripartite Typology of Commitment Johnson’s Tripartite Typology of Commitment Michael Johnson’s tripartite framework departs from the previous two models in conceptualizing commitment as a multidimensional rather than unidimensional construct. Johnson specifies three distinct types of commitment: structural commitment, or feeling that one must remain in a relationship; moral commitment, or feeling that one ought to remain in a relationship; and personal commitment, or feeling that one wants to remain in a relationship. Structural commitment has four components: potential alternatives to

the current relationship; perceived social pressure to remain with a current partner; irretrievable investments accrued over the course of a relationship; and the perceived difficulty of terminating the relationship.

HOW COMMITMENT HELPS TO BE A SUCCESSFUL PERSON ? Being committed thus entails a powerful will to do whatever it takes to fulfill and follow through on a responsibility. Being committed requires that you are ready to tread the long path to success and let go of the temptation of taking an easy route or a shortcut. Taking the long path to success invariably involves hard work. However, one must remember that the harder one works, the more benefits he reaps. One must keep in mind that with passion, commitment and hard work, any goal can be achieved. Remember that success is the reward of a concerted effort. When you make a commitment, you have pledged to achieve a certain outcome or a result. There will be inevitable setbacks along the way to achieving success. With determination, you can overcome any such setbacks, counter any roadblocks and defeat the obstacles that lie in that path to success. Once you have overcome the first setback or countered the initial roadblocks, you will feel invigorated and will develop the confidence in viewing any further obstacles as a challenge that you must overcome to continue your path towards accomplishing even bigger goals.

How commitment grows in a person? ➢ Work together ➢ Feel successful at what they do ➢ Make decisions together ➢ Work through conflicts ➢ Support one another's leadership ➢ Have fun and play together ➢ Overcome obstacles ➢ Hold each other to high principles ➢ Appreciate and respect one another ➢ Challenge one another to take the next step ➢ Build relationships ➢ Experience a victory together

➢ Learn from mistakes and setbacks ➢ See their leaders model commitment

What religion says about commitment? First of all, a strong commitment to God and ourselves must be based on morals inspired from our religious beliefs and concepts. These religious concepts control our attitude towards other people as well as our relations with them. Moreover, we acquire ethics that build our personality by those beliefs. At the same time, we must have self-confidence and self-dependence to make the right choice and fulfill our dreams. We must work hard to achieve our goals in all fields of life whether professional career, sports, arts or any other field. We must not let our lives pass by without reaching our purpose. The holy bible says in Proverbs 16 :3 Commit your activities to the lord and your plans will be achieved. And also in another chapter Matthew 4: 19 “follow me” ,he told them, and I will make you fish for people. Immediately the disciples followed the Jesus and they were really blessed, likewise many people committed to god who never had any failure in their life.

Commitment to our Parents: Beside self commitment and commitment to God we must have a tight commitment to our parents. They spend their lives seeking our happiness and well-being. Thus we must be thankful and grateful to them. Our appreciation should be expressed by true love and care as well as good deeds. We must respect, obey them and help them whenever they need us. Moreover, when they grow old, we must be by their side to care for them and make sure they live in the best conditions possible by extending good health care, providing them financially whenever they need it and ensure their happiness.

Qualities of a committed person: ➢ Dedication and Determination ➢ Patience ➢ Humble ➢ More Religious belief ➢ Trustworthy

➢ Always learn from their Mistakes ➢ Punctual ➢ Systematic behavior ➢ Obedience ➢ Never give up

Important facts about commitment: ➢ Commitment is connection: Commitment is the connection between our values, intentions and our actions. Connection is the coming together of more than one element, while commitment is the giving of our selves to it, the surrender. The connections we make generate our commitments, just as our commitments generate more profound connections. ➢ Passion: the essence of commitment Passion is that which deeply stirs us. It's the fire from within and that which motivates us. When passion is missing, our actions lack meaning and we don't get the results we want. Without passion, our actions are obligatory and lack velocity. Commitment emanates from passion -passion is the seed from which commitment blossoms! ➢ Commitment = persistence. If one is committed, one's support is uncompromising and unending. One is willing to do anything in support of the commitment. This applies to love as much as it applies to professional or global commitments. Commitment drives us and anchors us during challenging times. Commitment helps us to maintain our integrity; we persist to that which we're committed. ➢ Commitment is conscious! Commitment requires insight and self-awareness -- one must know what one's values and ideals in order to commit to them! Do you know someone who's a conscientious and productive worker but who's not happy? Such a person frequently lacks insight and self-awareness - commitment is difficult if you don't know what's most important to you! Commitment requires an ability to observe self and make conscious decisions.

➢ Commitment is purposeful. Commitment involves choice - saying yes to our values and to our passions! Commitment is never haphazard or random. While we may lose our perspective from time to time, commitment always involves choice and intent. Commitment enables us to be purposeful. ➢ Commitment is self-expression. Self-expression is the culmination of who we are and how we're being. When there's perfect alignment and congruency between who we are and how we're being, we are authentic and fully self-expressed. This is wonderfully fulfilling! If commitment is the ultimate expression of our values and who we are, self-expression is a core ingredient of commitment. ➢ . Vision brings forth our commitment. Does commitment generate the envisioning process, or does vision generate commitment? Either way, commitment and vision are inexplicably tied together. Expand your vision while you deepen your commitment in order to produce powerful results. ➢ . Commitment inspires us to be and do our best. We aim for the sky and shoot for the stars! We refuse to accept less than the best from our selves and others. Our commitment inspires us to reach for quality and excellence. We continually enlarge and clarify our vision - this contributes to us living our personal best. ➢ Commitment lives in communication. Communication involves verbal and nonverbal interaction. While commitment lives in the declaration and words, evidence of commitment lives in the actions we take and don't take. Be attentive for evidence of commitment in communication. ➢

Commitment is surrender. Commitment is the giving of our selves to what we most believe and want. It is the merging of our ideals and our being. We surrender to our ideals and with commitment, live them. We create what we want when we surrender to our commitment.

Conclusion: Commitment transforms the vision of success into actual success. Commitment stands first on the list of values and priorities of successful people. Being committed thus requires that a person is fully engaged in his endeavors and remains conscious and persistent enough to realize his/her life goals. Finally I conclude by saying the words of John Gardner, "Commitment requires hard work in the heat of the day; it requires faithful exertion in behalf of chosen purposes and the enhancement of chosen values."

REFERENCES 1. Carla Adair Hendricks, AARP Bulletin, Updated Feb. 14, 2011 https://www.aarp.org/relationships/love-sex/info-08-2009/couple-maintains-worldrecord-for-longest-marriage.html 2. Russell Sheldrake - The incredible career of the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, who raked in £26 million last year https://www.businessinsider.com/the-fastest-man-alive-the-incredible-career-of-usainbolt-2017-8?IR=T 3. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virat_Kohli 4. Agile Jedi http://www.agilejedi.com/chickenandpig 5. Christopher Agnew - Commitment, Theories and Typologies Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=psychpubs 6. Blaz Kos - Interested is not committed https://agileleanlife.com/interested-is-not-committed