Commitment

Commitment has to do with follow-through and consistent involvement to encourage a positive social change. It requires passion, energy, and investment in working toward an action. Commitment is such an important concept in the social change model because if people are not committed to the work that they are doing, nothing will ever get done properly, or even at all. Being in a position where you can be committed to the change you are working toward will encourage those around you to be committed as well. It can be difficult when working with others because if someone is lacking commitment to the change, it can bring the rest of the people down and they will not be as dedicated to the work you are doing. So having everyone be in a space where they can commit time and energy to the change is extremely important in social change. 

Somewhere that I saw just how important commitment is was at my old job. I worked at a coffee shop in my hometown over the summer of 2020 and here and there when I was home after that. The owner of the coffee shop was so extremely committed to making his business the greatest that it could be, so he had many incentives, give-aways, gifts, etc. to increase his customer base and encourage people to keep coming back. He built on a very small idea and made it into something so much bigger than I expected it to become. He showed a commitment to the business by working his regular job and being at the shop almost daily to make sure everything was running smoothly. Even with having another full-time job, he was committed to getting to know each and every one of our customers on a personal level and making them feel at home on their short trip to the coffee shop. Over the summer, I saw the business grow and I saw changes happening due to the commitment and the dedication he put into that shop. 

Seeing that change occur at the coffee shop has inspired me to be extremely committed to the things I can about because I know how possible it is to see a real change happen right before my own eyes. In the future, I will think back to the coffee shop and how my boss was about to make connections, manage a store, and work a full-time job while being so committed to everything he did.