discipline

most people suck at committing to their personal goals because, for the most part, nobody does this . Typical commitments are enforced socially, but that only works for the kinds of things your culture and group expect you to commit to.

In all of the usual cases of successful commitment, however, there are usually strong social and cultural pressures to stay committed. When you don’t show up for work, you get fired. This has a negative impact on your life, but, more importantly, it has an immediate and visceral negative emotion. Being dismissed by your employer is devastatingly... See more

A lot of people I know don’t bother starting projects because they know they won’t finish. What’s the point of writing a book, mastering a new skill or setting up an online business if you won’t see the end result. But there are few things more satisfying than holding a finished product in your hands after months of effort. Setting deadlines,... See more

Take a look at the unfinished projects on your computer or in your notebook. Try splitting them into experiments and commitments, and see which ones fall into each box. Calling some of them experiments, and knowing it’s okay if they fail or you decide to quit them early might give you the momentum you need to pick them up again.

And more... See more

The key, says Young, is rethinking your mental approach to new projects, rather than simply forcing yourself to finish everything you start. Young suggests putting every project you work on (if it will take more than a day to complete) into one of two categories: experiments and commitments .