Committed to commitment

As much as I really did not enjoy my high school years at an all girls school in Pretoria, a key life lesson that was drilled into us, that has stuck over the years, is the importance of 'commitment'. If you commit to something, then you make jolly sure that you see it through, be it homework, a sports activity or  social engagement. At the time I thought it was a lot of "blah blah - fish-paste-whatever..." but over the years I have come to realise the magnitude of the importance of commitment.

If you've committed to something, then invariably, there are other people that will depend on you to see it through. I had an interesting incident some time ago where I was meant to drive through to an early morning running race, about an hours drive to be at the start on time. I found out that there was a fellow runner in the area also heading to the race, so suggested that we drive together. On the wet Cape Town morning, at 04:30 - the agreed upon time to meet up, came and went and no reply was received on messages left. I then had to make the call and leave for the race, as I still had to find the place and navigate the wet roads. I ended up being late for the race and started seven minutes after the starting gun went off. Although it was an exciting challenge to see how many people I could catch up with and over take and it was a beautiful race along the wine lands of Stellenbosch, I continuously thought and worried about the people that were supposed to have driven with me. I worried whether something had happened to them - were they OK? I hated the fact that I had committed to giving a lift and then had to leave sans them. When I got back to my car after the race (which I completed in a very respective time, and did not come stone last!), I received a very nonchalant text that travel companions had a late night and had forgotten to let me know that they were not intending to get up early and run.

I do understand that life happens, and cancelling things are inevitable, but I do also think that opting out and finding excuses to cancel things last minute happen too easily these days.

Opting out on a whim and cancelling something that you've committed to not only let's down a lot of people but it does not do you any favours either. Yes, it was 100% my own fault for first of all offering that lift, and for worrying about them during the race, instead of focusing on enjoying the race. However it was a good reminder of the commitment lesson taught so many years ago.

Excuses and cancelling commitments damages reputations -  if you can't commit to something small, what are the chances you can be trusted with something bigger?