Commitment

DiClemente, Carlo C., Addiction and Change:

The first task of Preparation is creating the commitment for the upcoming attempt to change. Commitment is related to decision making. However, it is not an automatic consequence of the decision-making process. Although there are many reasons why I am convinced that I “should” do something, summoning the energy, resources, and dedication needed for acting requires another step. An additional step seems necessary even if the “should” motivating change is an internal one supported by solid decisional considerations. Commitment is a critical element of this transition.

In our research, we have measured a process of change called self-liberation that attempts to capture the choice and commitment elements of change emphasized in humanistic and existential models (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984, 1992; Prochaska & Norcross, 2013). Commitment represents the individual’s readiness to place specified change at the top of his or her personal agenda, to allocate personal time, energy, and resources to do the work needed to make the change. A miscalculation of the energy and effort needed undermines many attempts to change smoking, alcohol, and drug dependence despite goodwill and solid decision making. Creating commitment and engaging self-liberation, then, is a central task of Preparation.

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Commitment is essentially a matter of finding the time and energy to implement the plan. One of the most frequent reasons why individuals do not change is that they lacked the time and energy to do it. But it would be difficult to implement and sustain any change plan without a firm choice and sustained commitment.

Pre-Recommitment

Reference: Bulley, A., & Schacter, D. L. (2020). Deliberating trade-offs with the future. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(3), 238–247. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0834-9

Atomic habits has a lot on this: A commitment device is a choice you make in the present that controls your actions in the future. It is a way to lock in future behavior, bind you to good habits, and restrict you from bad ones. When Victor Hugo shut his clothes away so he could focus on writing, he was creating a commitment device.* Clear, James. Atomic Habits (p. 170). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

• In the footnote he adds: This is also referred to as a “Ulysses pact” or a “Ulysses contract.” Named after Ulysses, the hero of The Odyssey, who told his sailors to tie him to the mast of the ship so that he could hear the enchanting song of the Sirens but wouldn’t be able to steer the ship toward them and crash on the rocks. Ulysses realized the benefits of locking in your future actions while your mind is in the right place rather than waiting to see where your desires take you in the moment. Clear, James. Atomic Habits (p. 307). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
• If a person has a low restraint bias or simply knows of the hot-to-cold empathy gap, they might adopt the solution of taking pre-emptive action when in the cold state in anticipation of the hot state. The classical tale of Odysseus is a perfect illustration of such pre-emptive action. Odysseus did not suffer from a restraint bias, so well in advance, he correctly estimated the lure of the song of the sirens pulling him and his boat to the rocks. Therefore, before getting to the tempting location, he had his sailors tie him to the mast of the ship, so he could not alter its course and be drawn to the sirens. His sailors had their ears bunged up with wax so that they would not hear the sound of the sirens. Toates, Frederick. How Sexual Desire Works (p. 218). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.

Torah Sources

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