{"id":797,"date":"2008-07-14T10:00:40","date_gmt":"2008-07-14T17:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/14\/is-more-commitment-always-a-good-thing\/"},"modified":"2018-04-04T03:02:35","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T10:02:35","slug":"is-more-commitment-always-a-good-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/14\/is-more-commitment-always-a-good-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Is More Commitment Always a Good Thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RelaxPoolside.png\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week I wrote two articles about measuring<\/a> and building your persistence levels<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 I started on the idea that your level of persistence is your ability to keep going without any positive feedback.\u00c2\u00a0 Ideally, your persistence would be unlimited, and you wouldn\u2019t quit, even in the face of a complete lack of reinforcement.<\/p>\n

While more persistence is generally a good thing, I\u2019ve found that there are pursuits which work best with a complete lack of commitment.\u00c2\u00a0 And in these cases, going in with the mindset of unfailing persistence can actually be dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong> Separating Your Experiments From Goals<\/h2>\n

I try to be completely uncommitted when trying new things.\u00c2\u00a0 If I want to start visiting an art gallery, pick up a hobby or read a few books on a new subject, I don\u2019t go with the goal of committing my entire life to it.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u2019ve cycled through many minor interests and I think that cycling is important, if you hold back on trying new things until you\u2019re 100% committed, you\u2019ll miss out on opportunities.<\/p>\n

I like to separate pursuits into two broader categories: experiments and goals.\u00c2\u00a0 Experiments are the activities you take with almost zero commitment.\u00c2\u00a0 The very idea of an experiment suggests that you aren\u2019t sure about the outcome.\u00c2\u00a0 Last week I started a martial arts class.\u00c2\u00a0 At this point, I\u2019m focused only on trying the new experience, I haven\u2019t already planned out a thirty year commitment to get my black belt and start up a dojo.<\/p>\n

Goals, are beyond the stage of experimenting.\u00c2\u00a0 This is when you\u2019ve had enough experience in an area that you want to accomplish something important within it.\u00c2\u00a0 Once you reach this point, you need to flip mindsets and build your persistence towards the goal.<\/p>\n

At this point, I\u2019m sure I haven\u2019t introduced anything new.\u00c2\u00a0 The question I\u2019d like to ask is, when does an experiment turn into a goal?\u00c2\u00a0 How do you know which perspective to use?\u00c2\u00a0 Most importantly, how do you know when you have too many experiments and too few goals, or too many goals and too little experimentation?<\/p>\n

Lateral and Vertical Growth<\/h2>\n

\"RelaxPoolside.png\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An idea I\u2019ve referred to frequently on this blog is vertical and lateral growth.\u00c2\u00a0 These are two distinct directions of self-improvement, but both are important.\u00c2\u00a0 Vertical growth is about discipline, focus and goal-setting.\u00c2\u00a0 Lateral growth is about curiosity, learning and experimenting.<\/p>\n

If all of your energy is invested in vertical growth, you may become extremely good at a few things.\u00c2\u00a0 However, you may lose opportunities because of your relentless focus.\u00c2\u00a0 In the book, Goal Free Living<\/a><\/strong>, Steven Shapiro mentions a study where participants were asked to watch a video of a game and to keep track of the score.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of their extreme focus on the task, not one of the participants noticed that midway through the video a man in a giant gorilla costume walked into the screen.<\/p>\n

Complete vertical growth may help you keep track of the score, but you may inadvertently miss the giant gorillas that walk around.<\/p>\n

Total lateral growth also has its downside.\u00c2\u00a0 You may not invest enough in one pursuit to become great at anything.\u00c2\u00a0 As a result, you become a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.<\/p>\n

Experimenting can be seen as improvement in the lateral direction.\u00c2\u00a0 More experiments with less commitment means you\u2019re more open to try new things.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u2019ve only tried 10 pursuits, you\u2019ll have a lot less knowledge about what you truly want to do with your life than if you\u2019ve experimented with 1000.<\/p>\n

Goal-setting is acting in the vertical direction.\u00c2\u00a0 By having unrelenting focus on one pursuit, you can become far better than if your energy is spread haphazardly over a dozen different goals.<\/p>\n

Experiment to Get a Feel for Process, Set Goals to Get Results<\/h2>\n

The question is, where do you draw the line?\u00c2\u00a0 If experiments are useful with nearly zero commitment and goals are best with total commitment, how do you decide?\u00c2\u00a0 The answer isn\u2019t to split the middle and do everything with a half-commitment.\u00c2\u00a0 This way you won\u2019t stay fixed to your goals and you\u2019ll become too narrow in your experiments.<\/p>\n

I think the decision to experiment or set goals depends on the purpose behind it.\u00c2\u00a0 Experiments are good for getting a feel for the process.\u00c2\u00a0 They can give you hints about whether you might develop a passion for something.\u00c2\u00a0 They can also open you up to new ideas that you may want to use in other areas.<\/p>\n

Goals are best for getting results.\u00c2\u00a0 Although I dabble in some things, this website hasn\u2019t been the result of dabbling.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u2019ve committed over two years and nearly 600 articles of work to building it.\u00c2\u00a0 If you add up the total content, it would equal a few average-sized books.\u00c2\u00a0 The website still has a long way to go, but I\u2019ve been very happy with the results this far.<\/p>\n

If your purpose is to get more information, or to get a feel for the process, start with an experiment.\u00c2\u00a0 If your purpose is to achieve something meaningful, set goals and commit yourself to them.<\/p>\n

Interests That Become Commitments<\/h2>\n

The purpose of an experiment is to gather information.\u00c2\u00a0 At some point, you\u2019ll have most the information you can get.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s at this point you need to decide whether you want to set goals and focus on that area, or whether you want to leave and try something else.<\/p>\n

Be careful about getting caught in the middle-zone.\u00c2\u00a0 This is an area which is no longer an experiment, but you don\u2019t have the focus and commitment to achieve anything meaningful.\u00c2\u00a0 Lots of activities in this middle-zone means your wasting a lot of your energy that could be better spent achieving something important or finding new opportunities.<\/p>\n

One reason I like the 30 Day Trial method is that it makes this deciding point easy to recognize.\u00c2\u00a0 After a month of experimenting with a new idea, you\u2019re forced to decide whether you will continue or leave it entirely.\u00c2\u00a0 This could be something simple as starting a habit to exercise, or something broader like a new hobby.<\/p>\n

I tend to be fairly limiting on what interests make the way to complete commitments.\u00c2\u00a0 Focus is a scarce resource, so having ten big goals often means you accomplish less than having just one.\u00c2\u00a0 Some of the criteria I use to decide what makes the cut:<\/p>\n