I was raised on beautiful farmland in southeastern Idaho, I had many occasions where I found myself straddling a fence. We had a couple of different types of fencing on our large farm and ranch.

We had electric barb-wire fences on our property. It was pretty tricky jumping over them and not getting shocked. I learned pretty fast how not to touch the fence. Then as I got older, my parents invested in these beautiful white wood fences. They were tall enough that the horses couldn’t jump over and low enough that the calves from the cows couldn’t crawl under.

When climbing over that white fence I could straddle or sit on it. This gave me a higher perspective. I could watch what was happening in the corral.

Like the fence, there are moments in our personal and business lives where we are indecisive. We may question whether to “cross” the fence, sit on the fence or go back the way we came. There is a saying that is true, “you’re either sliding or climbing but never standing still.”

Once you have decided to head down a particular path, you have begun the commitment process. If we make a commitment and pursue that course of action we will feel like we are climbing because we took the action. When we stop and take no action then we begin to slide. We can always change course but the beauty of that is we are still climbing because of the action.

In my office hangs a picture with the word commitment on it. The quote, “determination is often the first chapter in the book of excellence” is under the word commitment. The picture is one of a runner in the early hours of the morning and set in a wooded rough terrain.

The reason I selected this picture was that I knew there may be days that are tough or hard. There would be days I would want to quit. But the runner in the picture reminds me of a goal I had and completed several years ago of running in every state of the country. Not only does the picture remind me of that goal I accomplished, it inspires me to stay focused on my new goal.

Sometimes I may try to straddle the fence but when I do I feel like my confidence is diminishing and my power as well. Taking action and striving for improvement has produced positive results.

All you have to do is climb the fence and explore the other side.