Tool · Commitments

Commitments.

A goal is something you achieve. A commitment is someone you become. Turn one into the other.

Step 1 of 3 · The goal

What's a goal you have?

Anything. Real or aspirational. "I want to run a 5K." "I want to write a novel." "I want to be in better shape." One sentence. Be specific.

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Step 2 of 3 · The identity

Who does that goal?

A 5K is a goal. A runner is a commitment. Strip away the achievement — what kind of person regularly does this? The runner runs whether or not there's a 5K next month. That is who you are committing to become.

The move: Go from "I want to run a 5K" to "A person who runs."
From "I want to lose ten pounds" to "A person who treats their body with care."
From "I want to read more" to "A person who reads."

A person who…

Step 3 of 3 · This week

What does that person do this week?

Three small specific things that person would do in the next seven days. Not the version of you that's already there — the version of you you're committing to. Each action should name a day, a number, or a person.

This one's still abstract — add a day, a number, or a name.

Aurelius's job: separate what's in your control from what isn't, and name any action vague enough that no one would notice if you did or didn't do it. The marble doesn't argue back. He does.

My Commitment

I am becoming

A person who —

— This week —

—

The goal underneath:

moralexpansion.adambede.org/commitments

Now use it.

Print the card. Tape it where you'll see it Monday morning — bathroom mirror, fridge, laptop lid. The actions are small on purpose. The point isn't the action. The point is that the person you said you were becoming actually did them.

Reread this card in seven days. Did that person do those things? If yes — you are that person. If no — that's data, not failure. Edit the actions and run it again.

Where the frame comes from. James Clear (Atomic Habits, 2018) makes the case that lasting change is identity-based, not outcome-based: don't aim to run a marathon, aim to become a runner. The same idea runs through Aristotle ("we are what we repeatedly do") and Dorothy Day ("lay one brick at a time"). The Do-Say Audit's action portfolio is the long version. This is the short version.