Can you commit?
Commitment is a bit of a funny concept. Most people talk about commitment in the context of relationships, but what about the commitments we make with ourselves on a day-to-day basis?
To commit is to pledge yourself to a certain purpose or line of conduct. It is a contract or promise with yourself that you will follow through with a certain action. Simple enough right?
The problem is that our subconscious knows that it can trick us from getting out of the commitment you've made to yourself. Pledged to do a morning jog every morning at 6 am? All good! That is, until your brain will convince you to stay in your nice warm bed instead.
When we make commitments with ourselves, they are often only a conscious decision. But to fulfil a commitment, it must be both a conscious and subconscious act. To successfully follow through with your commitments, you must convince your subconscious to commit too. But how?
The simplest way to ensure success is to ask yourself if this commitment is what you really want. If so, why? And why is that? Make sure you highlight the benefits of your commitment loud and clear, because otherwise the subconscious will come up with a big list of costs instead.
For the times when you're not so strong-minded, acknowledge that you are playing a mind-game with yourself. Add in some artificial costs for not following through with your commitment. For example, you could air your commitment to the public for some accountability from friends and family. Or you can make some changes in your physical space that will make it harder to put it off - put your alarm in a place you can't reach without jumping out of bed. That'll reduce the costs of that morning jog because you have to get out of bed anyway!
Learn to make effective commitments with yourself first.
