Sometimes, you have to say yes to something before you actually think you’re capable of doing it, then let it work itself out, and force yourself to rise up to the task. 

I signed up for an olympic triathlon knowing that you were supposed to have open water swim experience, which I did not.

I signed up for that same olympic triathlon also knowing that it would require me to swim a mile nonstop, which at that time, I had not even come close to doing.

At one point in my life, I signed up for two jobs simultaneously (one of which required flying to different states every week), not knowing how I was going to make the schedules work out.

A few years ago, I decided to move out of my Los Angeles apartment, sell my car, my furniture, get rid of half my clothes and shoes, consolidate my life into a few suitcases, and get a one way ticket to Thailand without having a single friend, a place to live, nor even a google search under my belt to give me an idea of what the city was like that I was moving to.

In all these scenarios, I had no idea what to expect.

I had no idea how I was going to do it.

I had no idea how it would work out.

But I went forward anyway.

Spoiler alert: it all worked out.

And further, it all worked out in ways that I didn’t–or couldn’t–imagine before making the commitment.

If, in the beginning, before committing to all those decisions, I had to close my eyes and dream up…

• the exact tools and resources I would use
• the exact timeline for how I would grow my skills and capabilities
• the exact schedule I would follow
• the exact methods I would use to manage my energy and emotions
• the exact sequence of events that would lead to my success

…and write it all down as my “plan” for how I was going to make things happen, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.

I did not know what I had not yet seen or experienced, so I had nothing to even make a plan off of.

I was ignorant to the information that would later show up to help me.

Logic is not always your friend.

If I had done my usual hundreds of hours of research, online forum rummaging, pros and cons lists, thinking, more thinking, and overthinking, “logic” would have pointed me in a different direction.

And as a result of my limited thinking at that time, I would have unknowingly talked myself out of some of the greatest experiences and growth opportunities of my life.

Sometimes our logic holds us back.

Because it tells us that based on all current evidence, we are not capable.

And at that time, that may be true.

But the problem is that you are evaluating your capabilities based on the current version of yourself, not the newer and improved version of yourself that automatically arises from committing to a challenge.

The problem is that you are evaluating your likelihood for success based on your current circumstances and resources, not the plethora of additional resources that will show up once you decide to first say yes.

Say yes first.

How is often on the other side of yes.

We wait for capability before we say yes to something.

We wait for the comfort of knowing and believing we can do it to coax us into saying yes.

If we only limit ourselves to pursuing what we can currently wrap our heads around, what we can currently make sense of, we will never achieve anything.

And we will never grow.

It goes without saying that…

We can’t grow if we don’t stretch.

But we can’t stretch if we don’t first reach.

We wait for competence before making a commitment, but competence comes after commitment.

Once we set our minds on doing something, that is when we quiet the voice that tells us why we can’t.

And in that silence, the voice can arise that tells us how and why we can.

Choose first to make a way, and the way will follow.

Choose first to commit and competence will follow.

Everything you need is on the other side…

On the other side of commitment lies motivation that we didn’t know would be available for us to tap into.

On the other side of commitment lies resolve to figure it out and make it happen no matter what.

On the other side of commitment lie persistence, resilience, and greater strength to keep moving forward despite the inevitable obstacles and setbacks that pop up.

On the other side of commitment lie creativity and resourcefulness for coming up with solutions.

On the other side of commitment lies a better version of yourself that you haven’t met yet.

On the other side of commitment lies a better version of your life that you haven’t imagined yet.

Say yes first.

Commit first.

Then trust that you will figure it out.

The power of commitment.

In a way, it’s like an arranged marriage.

A partner is first chosen for (or with) you, then you make it work.

Logic would probably have told you all the reasons that person is incompatible with you and not a good fit, which would have caused you to either give up on the relationship too soon or never give it a shot in the first place.

But in committing first, many people in arranged marriages seem to ultimately find themselves happier and more satisfied in their unions than their more traditional counterparts who are burdened by their pros and cons lists and freedom of choice.

I’m not saying arranged marriage is for everyone.

But at the very least, maybe it’s not bad to have an arranged marriage with your dreams and goals.

Commit to them, then allow yourself to be surprised at how you find a way to make it work.