commitment is an act of agency

The commitment connects you to the future when you must take the action. The action connects you to the past when you made the commitment. You will begin to experience past, present, and future as part of one continuum. It is impossible to grant time its proper respect without this sense of flowing continuity. Without it, life is a meaningless seri

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When we pursue optionality, we avoid bold decisions. Like anything meaningful, venturing into the unknown is an act of faith. It demands responsibility. You‘ll have to take a stand, trust your decision, and ignore the taunts of outside dissent. But a life without conviction is a life controlled by the futile winds of fashion. Or worse, the hollow e... See more

“If you're ever wondering what is the right decision, ‘Should I do this, or should I do that? Should I live here, or should I live there? Should I take this job or that job?’ that just the act of choosing one and wholeheartedly committing to it makes your choice the best choice. It is your commitment itself that can make any choice the right choice... See more

Yet, for all the impact this specific choice has had on the trajectory of my life, I value the way it changed my view about choices even more. We often think of choice as a thing. But a choice is not a thing. Our options may be things, but a choice—a choice is an action. It is not just something we have but something we do. This experience brought

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That’s what commitments are—alternatives to self-obsession. Commitments free us to dedicate ourselves to something bigger than ourselves—to something beyond our shells. The French philosopher Jacques Maritain said that the meaning of life is “self-mastery for the purpose of self-giving.” This is the challenge of growing up—to turn the corner from s... See more