The Island of Failed Commitments Part I

Well after about two or three weeks I decided to go back to the gym this past Monday morning. I'm glad I did. It was nice to get back into working out. I feel better and healthier when I work out regularly. It's not a surprising statement, but a rather simple principle. As I was running on the treadmill for about ten minutes (I have to ease back in right?) I was thinking about my mindset when I first got my membership. I remember I was so excited and ready to go three or more times a week. I was planning on eating better and boosting my protein intake; the whole works. Yet, here I am a few months later and for some strange reason I have totally fell off the horse and had to make a serious effort to even get back to the gym.
So why do my/our commitments fail so much? Why is the graveyard of my/our past commitments and resolutions so...well...stinking huge?

I am sure you are reading this in total agreement. Whether with exercise, diet, relationships, school, work, or our walk with God, we have all had similar experiences. We have such worthy goals and start strong, but give it a few days, weeks, or if we are doing really good, months, and we are back where we started.
There are many reasons and excuses that I have for my lack of follow through; however, I think there are 4 main causes of death that are inscribed on the autopsy reports of a vast number of dead commitments, goals, and resolutions. I would like to spend the next few posts talking about these very things.

1) A Haphazard Overlook of Reality.
The first probably most simple commitment killer I see is this haphazard overlook of reality. I can't count the number of times I have began pursuing a goal of some kind without stopping for just a moment to think of what the goal or commitment truly entails. Allow me to expound using the previous example of my gym membership. When I first signed up at Planet Fitness (Which by the way is only $10/mo) I had visions of my health and fitness goals, but what I didn't think about was my lack of time, the getting up early, the extra work, the going to bed early so I could go to the gym the next morning, and just the hassle of getting in my car and driving to the gym every day or so. That's not even mentioning all the difficulties you run into trying to eat right.
Many times we make commitments and start pursuing goals before we know if it is truly a reasonable commitment or if we are just setting ourselves up for failure. I'm not saying we shouldn't set goals or make "cold turkey" changes in our lives; however, I am saying that sometimes our resolutions are too big of an undertaking for us. It's like trying to compete in a triathlon without training or relying solely on your biking skills and overlooking the swimming and running. 
Jesus makes reference to this very principle in Luke 14:28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
In light of all this the first step to counteract this commitment killer is to "count the cost" before committing. Take a few minutes or even days to think and make sure you have the necessary time, resources, and stamina to accomplish the goal you want to set. It's okay to push yourself a little but you have to be careful. It's better to make two or three smaller goals and tackle them one at a time than to make one big goal and become discouraged and disheartened. Remember, baby steps take us a long way.