It’s easy at the beginning of the year to have all sorts of new resolutions and good intentions.
But there is a world of difference between motivation and commitment.
Motivation is easy.
I want to lose weight; I want to run a marathon; I want to become a better husband/father; I want to become a better writer/solicitor; I want Kildare to win the All Ireland football championship; I want Kildare to win the Leinster.
Yes, the motivation part is easy and I can do it from the sitting room couch or the office chair or my car.
Commitment, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish.
Commitment is coming home to a cold house, taking out the ashes of yesterday’s fire, setting a new one, striking the match and watching the Zip firelighter flame up, going out into the cold, wet night to walk/jog/run on badly maintained, dark, rural country roads.
Commitment is getting up at 5.30 am and going into the office at an insensibly early hour to do the work that needs to be done to improve and brutalise an ambition into a noticeable improvement in a worthwhile skill.
Maybe the gulf between motivation and commitment can be exploited and put to good use, though, by embracing it and jumping into the darkness.