How to Commit to Creative Growth

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” — Mario Andretti

I came across this quote and it got me thinking about commitment in terms of my marriage, career, and creative growth. I started to see some areas I learned about when I was first faced with what commitment meant that could also improve my commitment to creative growth.

One of my biggest commitments

I’ve been married twelve years now, but I still remember a lot about our relationship dynamic before we go married. We had dated two years before we got married and my wife was hoping I’d pop the question after the first year, but I just wasn’t ready.

It’s not that I didn’t love her, it’s that I wasn’t ready for the amount of commitment I knew was needed for marriage. FYI: my views on marriage commitment are based on my beliefs and how I’ve seen other marriages struggle and fail. But I think they can creative growth as well as marriage.

Committing to not “lust”

From my background and beliefs, I understood that not lusting after other women is something that’s part of a marriage commitment—I struggle with this and I don’t think anyone can be perfect. If I’m constantly comparing my wife to other women, I’m probably not going to fully appreciate her for who she is.

Sometimes, we creative people can also be guilty of “lusting” after other people’s work. If we’re constantly comparing our work to others, instead of inspiring us, it can make us devalue our own work. Trying not to compare your work to others, may help you get more joy out of the process and results.

Committing to time

Many already understand the time it takes to build a relationship before marriage. But it’s nothing compared to actually getting married. If I were to only see my wife once a month, there’s no way our relationship would grow.

Commitment to creative growth takes time also. Try making it a more of a priority and be more consistent. Even if you only have an hour a week, consistent time will help you grow.

Commitment to finish

True commitment from the beginning of a marriage makes it not based on happiness. “’Til death do us part” is a part of many marriage vows, but it often ends up being “’Till unhappiness do us part”. As any married couple knows, there are times when your spouse is like your best friend and others like your bitter enemy. So, having a commitment to stay in the relationship through tough times and good times is a huge part of a marriage commitment.

When starting a creative project,try committing to finishing it no matter what. Committing to finish forces you to find solutions for problems instead of giving up. Your project may not turn out perfect, but you’ll learn and grow more by finishing and seeing the final results than by giving up when it’s tough.