This article was originally published in Turkish on HBR Türkiye, in April 2021. View Turkish version here.
For almost a year now, we have been living at home. For many of us, this period has created a positive, experimental environment and has even led to a number of changes in our emotions and motivations. But with our emotions and motivations in such a state of flux, is it possible to keep ourselves consistently disciplined? Doesn't the word ‘commitment’ sound more positive than ‘discipline’?
During the pandemic, I realized that I experienced a variety of motivations and energy shifts from time to time. I began to question my efficiency. I had always prided myself on being disciplined, but I was starting to realize that discipline was not what I needed..
At first, my motivation for healthy eating and exercise had me waking up very early every morning and exercising for at least 2 hours. Then my discipline continued with a nutritious breakfast and healthy meals I cooked on the weekends. I woke up before dawn for months, including weekends, and performed the same routine every day with rigorous discipline. I was proud of this discipline, but eventually I felt like I was starting to push myself too much.
For a person who is merely 'disciplined', is this truly a sustainable order? Not quite. When I hear ‘discipline’, a flood of rules and obligations, like an to-do lists flashes before my eyes; an emotionless to-do list. And when we don't do the things on this list for even one day, we begin to feel guilty and punish ourselves for not following the rules. Our inner voice tells us, 'Let me give myself permission now and start over with discipline next week.' Thus, we enter into the psychology of beginning again.
For this reason, I prefer the word ‘commitment’ rather than 'discipline'. It seems much more hopeful, happy, and emotion-oriented.When I think of ‘discipline’, a picture of a gray and difficult world comes to mind, while when I think of 'commitment’’, a colorful, vibrant picture emerges.
In her TED talk, Dr. Heidi Reeder defines devotion as “being psychologically attached to something and concentrating with our thoughts and feelings.” Commitment has been the subject of many studies through a number of different definitions and approaches.
Commitment can apply to many topics, both b. While the morning exercise we discussed above is one example of commitment, there are numerous other examples;; commitment to living healthy, to our partner, to our family, or to the company we work for.
Among what I read on this subject, the simplest and most meaningful explanation I came across was the 'Commitment Equation'. According to this equation, commitment consists of four main factors:
'Treasures/Gains'. The meaning, benefits, and positive emotions that commitment gives us constitute our gains. For example, if we are committed to living a healthy life and feeling well, then getting sick less often can be counted among our achievements.
'Difficulties'. Let’s start by asking a few questions. What are the challenges you face in your commitments?? What are the enduring problems?Continuing with the example of healthy living, let’s say we leave our warm bed and wake up early to exercise. It can be challenging for us to wake up and concentrate before we even start our day.
'Contributions'. We each have our own motivations and goals, and how much energy we contribute toward these goals determines what we get out of them. Let’s use sports as an example. If we play sports not only occasionally, but every day, at every opportunity we can, we become more committed to that work. In that way, we are investing in ourselves.
Our fourth commitment factor is 'Options'. All the other alternatives around us can make it difficult to maintain our commitment. As unhealthy food options become more abundant around us, our commitment to healthy living and nutrition can be put at risk. For example, it can be challenging for us to choose to eat healthy when we know eating a sugar-filled cake will provide us with a welcome boost in serotonin.
While we started with simply ‘discipline’, as we delve deeper into these four factors, we arrive at the formula of commitment:
Commitment Level = (Gains – Challenges) + Contributions – Options
This equation measures our level of commitment. The more we focus on the positives in the equation, and the more we can manage the negatives, the higher our level of commitment will ultimately become. Using the goals and commitment we set for ourselves, we can reinvent ourselves and create the life we want.