What is Commitment, Anyway?
”Commitment” is a funny term. It is colloquially used to describe a serious, thought out decision in which a final ends has been determined. For instance, people may commit the a monogamous relationship, or commit to exercise daily, or commit to making a certain amount of money in a certain span of time.
So, what might we say distinguishes a “commitment” from a “decision.” It might very well be said that the two are synonymous, or maybe only signify a degree of deciding (commitment being more serious). If I decide to exercise daily, I have determined what I think is best and will act upon it. If I commit to daily exercise, then it seems as if I do the same.
In searching for a separate understanding of what we might use to understand commitment, we can check out its coloquial use. It is common to state that commitment implies following through on a decision despite thinking and feeling otherwise. In this way, a decision involves acting on what we think is best in the moment, while commitment implies going against what we think is best in the moment and instead following through on actions in line with our “commitment.”
If commitment did not involve going against our present judgement, then it would be the same as any other decision. We will say that commitment involves these “parameters” that limit our choices and channel us down a specific path.
To boil down our current model: A decision involves behavior taken for specific ends which we presently determine to be best. Commitment involves behaving on a decision not for the sake of the decision itself, instead of justifying our present decision by its ends.
So Why do We Commit?
It seems to be a valid question. Why would be place parameters on what we allow ourselves to do?! For instance, lets take the example of the person who commits to exercising daily. If that person were in a certain state and in certain circumstances, and did NOT think that it was best for him to exercise, why would he do so?
Similarly, we could take the example of the person who has committed to making $5000 in the next two weeks. If he was in a certain state and circumstances, and determined that it was not best for him to pursue this money, why would he continue to strive for his monetary goal?
The reasons might vary, I will here list two plausible reasons.
1) The first justification for commitment involves the fact that the person understands – at the moment of their commitment – that their emotional states and environment will constantly be changing. They know the specific perspective that they think is BEST in terms of what they value most in life will change with these other factors. As a result, they place abstract value on the “commitment” itself, instead of flowing with whatever decision the moment presents as best in their minds. Hence, the man who is choosing weather or not to exercise may not be able to rationally justify working out in his present mind-state, but he trusts his judgement from the perspective of his past state and circumstance and more adequate that his present perspective in determining what is genuinely best for him.
2) The second justification for commitment might be in order to cultivate the character of dedication, the ability to apply oneself consistently without excuses or interruption of purpose. For instance – in the example of the person committed to making a specific amount of money – despite the fact that he cannot justify his financial goal in the moment, will continue to take action to make money in order to prove his own efficacy and develop a honed ability to focus.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of justifications for commitment, as stated before, these are just tow plausible examples.
What these above mental process have in common is the following: BOTH OF THEM INVOLVE PLACING AN ABSTRACT VALUE ON THE “DECISION,” AS OPPOSED TO MERELY BEHAVING IN THE PRESENT BASED ON PRESENT JUDGEMENT. Any thought process that does this seems to function as a commitment of sorts.
To explain this easily, lets imagine a scale in one’s mind when one makes a choice. If this choice only involves what one feels, or rational justification from the past and present, then this is not commitment. If, however, if the weight of the committed decision ITSELF effects the “choosing scale,” then the “commitment mechanism” that we are outlining here has come into play!
This commitment mechanism seems to involve a degree of what is commonly referred to as “faith,” for it involves a kind of trust in one’s choices despite lack of present justification in feeling or in reason.
What are the Consequences of Commitment?
Now that you’ve been fully inundated with philosophical jargon, and hopefully understand this mechanism, lets turn to the consequences of commitment. This short “blurbish” version of an inquiry won’t suffice to go into the infinite posibility for response in this regard. I will, however, dish out a few ideas about the potentials.
It might be seen as potentially dangerous to lean one’s behavior outside the parameters of what appears just in the moment, and certainly closing oneself off to one’s present judgements for too long cannot be healthy. It might also be said that commitment gives us more freedom as individuals. This seems counter-intuitive, since commitment seems to limit the range of our behavior. However, if we establish our own commitments, and place the deterministic factors upon ourselves, then we can become less fluctuating in our purpose when presented with the deterministic factors that come from without.
Something to contemplate.
(NOTE: This is a small portion of a much larger work I am composing on this issue, but I think that laying out this idea in easy to understand terms will give people something interesting to think about.)
___
If you enjoyed this post and the material on this site, consider signing up for my RSS feed or bumping this material only StumbleUpon or Digg. Thanks a lot!
