I had the opportunity to go to Russia, where I was speaking at a conference. I toured the country with friends when I was there, and I must say Russia is a stunningly beautiful place. The churches are magnificent, and the cities are fascinating, simply put, I had a great time. It was a dream come true to visit the Hermitage and see and walk into Saint Basil’s Cathedral. That being said, there are some funky foods and traditions in Russia that I’ve seen in other countries but for some reason, it is a big deal in Russia. I’m talking about a tradition of a lock and a key.
There is an interesting Russian tradition that caught my eye because it’s everywhere, literally on every bridge big or small. The tradition is when a couple gets married or two people commit to each other, they put a lock on a bridge or a tree or anywhere that the lock would hold. Most of the locks I saw had the initials of the couple scraped onto the lock and then they closed the lock, and then together they threw the key in the river. The locked lock symbolizes the fact that they have locked their relationship forever and once something is locked it cannot be undone. Frankly, because you can’t get the key back since you threw it in the river.
One day while I was looking at all the locks on the bridge and I’m telling you it’s almost like a wall of locks it’s pretty amazing. I wondered what I would commit to so completely that I would lock it and throw away the key and not regret it. I can start with my belief in God, my love for family and friends, my commitment to creating a speaking and coaching business, my desire to serve and train others, to serve in public office, my commitment to traveling the world, after that list I ran out of things.
What that informal exercise did for me was a wake-up call. While I continue to work on my list, let me ask about you and what have you so fully committed to that you could lock it up and throw away the key and not regret it.
I think it’s worth thinking about.
Again, you’ll see these locks on bridges and other locations and in other countries but for some reason, Russia has it down in spades. Sometimes the locks become so heavy the government has to come in and take them off the bridge or tree – simply for the structure to be able to hold the weight. Not on the big national bridges but the smaller ones in small towns.
I took lots of pictures of the locks to show my friends and surprisingly they were not impressed. The standard question I got was, Deb, these are pictures of locks, what else did you see? So, maybe nobody cares about my locks but a fascinating thing to see because I think it’s important that we understand when we commit to success in our life it’s not just finding something, locking it up, and throwing away the key it’s also making us better, doing what it takes to be the best in all that we do, and caring for others, because we are trusted enough by others to hold tight when the storms of life come and beat against us all.
Ah friend, are you committed to Success?
