How I came to have something in common with Taylor Swift

As I sit down to write this, I’m closing in on a major milestone.

I’ve become aware that this is blog #52.

The 52nd blog I’ve written in 2023.

One for every week of the year.

A commitment I’ve made before, but never followed through - until today.

So, what’s different? After having good intentions in the past to show up consistently with my blog and newsletter, what changed?

This is the power of purpose in practice.

This is knowing WHY.

When you know your why, the purpose behind your commitment, then you can start to get serious. You can start to take consistent action because you’re connected to something more, something more than yourself.

Too often our commitments are partial, fragmented, cold starts, and we wonder why we can’t get closer to our goals or we can’t experience our desired result.

This is where Taylor comes in:

Six months ahead of opening her Eras Tour, Taylor Swift gave up alcohol and practiced singing her entire 3-hour set list while on the treadmill. She knew she was taking on something new, something big, something that would take her to her next level and she needed to be prepared. She committed to doing the hard work that would allow her to follow through on her commitment: showing up for her fans and

She knew her why, and she knew it was bigger than herself.

This year was different because I learned that by being clear on why I was showing up to write, hit publish, and distribute my blog via my newsletter, I could get clear on my commitment - in other words, the work I needed to show up and do.

I started the year midway through my second coaching certification and with so much information coming my way, I knew that writing would help me to integrate my learning. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the volume of new ideas, principles, and tools, I could process them through writing - the first step of putting them into practice.

I was grounded in the work, in the learning, in contextualizing the content.

As a result, I was able to bring the information to my clients in a concise and relevant way, and as a result, serving them more powerfully. It reminds me of what my Dad always said about math:

“You have learned the moment you can teach someone else.”

Further, writing weekly gave me the opportunity to share my perspective, my point of view - to share my story, what I had learned, and how it applied.

This is not to say that it was easy.

This is not to take away from the fact that the writing often didn’t flow or come easily and effortlessly. I often struggled through, gluing my ass to the chair until I was finished or up against my Wednesday 8:30pm deadline when my newsletter was scheduled to go out. But that’s what commitment is:

It’s showing up even when it’s hard.

It requires us to push through resistance, even when it’s painful, even when we feel that we can’t get to the other side. When we can think of every reason to stop, we keep going forward. We get back to our why…

Which brings me to the last part of my purpose: my belief that every time I wrote a blog, there was someone out there who needed to read it, who needed to hear what I had to say. I believe that it only takes one; one person to be inspired, motivated, to experience a new way of thinking.

Commitment is getting clear on your why.

Commitment is showing up consistently.

Commitment is being ALL-IN.

Commitment is having every reason not to, and doing it anyway.

Commitment is being compelled to act when it’s about more than just you.

What commitment are you celebrating this year?

Where will your commitment take you next?

Commitment knows no limits and may just lead you beyond your Wildest Dreams.

Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, speaker, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!