Staying Committed to the Life I’m Building
A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast with a professional skateboarder when I heard something that stuck out to me.
He talked about watching other young skaters, and how he would see them kick the board out from under them, even when they had the trick in the bag.
“That’s a fear of commitment,” he said. “I’ve never had that.”
He went on to give a few examples from his life where he demonstrated that, but overall his track record speaks for itself. He is easily one of the best street skateboarders in the world.
Not Giving Up
As I get older I am realizing that I am not really afraid of commitment, but there are still moments where I have felt like giving up.
Throughout most of my life I have tried a lot of different activities, such as basketball, gaming, and skateboarding.
Although I never quit any of these things outright, I also didn’t take them to the level that I initially wanted.
As I said before, this is something that keeps me motivated with music.
Music has always been a part of my life. Even as a young child, I would not only listen to music but attempt to write my own songs as well.
Recognizing that I have come this far helps me realize that it’s something worth sticking with.
From that perspective, I actually feel more committed than ever.
Not Self-Sabotaging
In the example from the introduction paragraph, kicking the board out when you have the trick in the bag can be seen as a form of self-sabotage.
It’s the equivalent of taking a fully written song and crumpling it up rather than actually recording and releasing it.
It’s unclear why as humans we have the tendency to do that.
Maybe it is some form of inner resistance or anxiety.
Some people even can develop a fear of success that becomes as strong as the fear of failure.
Sticking With It
A lot of successful people emphasize the importance of consistency when it comes to reaching milestones.
Some say things like “just keep showing up”. Even my mother reminds me of this at times.
She recently showed me a picture of two guys mining for jewels. The guy on the bottom stopped just as he was about to reach the diamonds, and the guy on the top was still going.
Finding something that you like enough to stick with is a real blessing. At this point, I do not want to overthink it.
For most of my life I have taken interest in other activities like I have said, but with music in particular I haven’t always been great about letting people know “this is what I do”.
This is something I am getting better with, and I am happy to say that in the last year and a half particularly I have come a long way.
Final Thoughts
When you really like or enjoy something, sometimes it can be easy to come up with all the reasons why you shouldn’t do it rather than just doing it.
Unfortunately, many people that take on this mindset go on to feel regret later in life.
One of the things that helps me personally is just internally reminding myself that I am committed.
I’m not giving up and I’m not going to sabotage myself.
I am going to stick with it, find my way, and appreciate every step forward.
