Dedication is Best

Are we pushing this too far or what? What is better than commitment? I will answer that in a minute. First, recall that interest is very essential but it must lead to something better, read here. Second, commitment is an obligation that sustains your engagement even when your interest is waning, read here. While commitment is most valuable when stability and consistency are required, I have a feeling that you don’t want someone to stand by you merely out of obligation.

You are very smart, so you might have checked the definition of dedication. Of course, you noticed that in several definitions, dedication was synonymous with commitment. I saw that too. But after eliminating all the entries they had in common, I arrived at a definition in The Britannica Dictionary, which says dedication “ is a feeling of very strong support for or loyalty to someone or something”. Merriam-Webster Dictionary also defined it as being “Devoted to a cause, ideal, or purpose. Being given over to a particular purpose” Here are a few characteristics of dedication:

  1. Devotion: Cambridge Dictionary says devotion is “to give all of something, especially your time, effort, or love, or yourself, to something you believe in or to a person”. Devotion is not satisfied with partial engagement; you must give your all. It is fueled by a personal belief and not merely an obligation. 
  2. Loyalty: a strong belief system leads to a firm and unchanging faithfulness in your dealings. This makes you unwilling to be freed from your obligation even if it was possible. You never see a way out but only the way forward. 
  3. Self-drive: dedicated persons hardly need to be instructed on the way forward. They have such an intense stakeholder mentality that they always look for innovative ways to get things done. This category of people will never stop or return empty-handed. No matter how tough the situation is, they get results first and tell stories later.

Answer this question please, “are you interested, committed or dedicated?” Think of your goals, relationships, job, etc. Where your heart is will determine the category you belong to. If you are easily stopped from achieving your goals, perhaps you are merely interested. It is good to be interested, it is better to be committed, but it is best to be dedicated. When you acquire one, don’t abandon it on your way forward. Hence, add to your interest commitment, and to your commitment, add dedication. Then you will be truly unstoppable.