Quotes About Commitment

Essentially there are two actions in life: Performance and excuses. Make a decision as to which he will accept from yourself.

Tom told me he didn't think about Gloria's feelings at all. It didn't even occur to him that she might think something about her had turned him off—which was, of course, not the case. The fact is that the relationship had nowhere to go except toward commitment, and this set off Tom's internal alarm system. After that, all he could think about was putting out the fire.

His actions are not governed by common sense, they are governed by his exaggerated fear of commitment. Therefore, when the relationship becomes truly close and intimate, he feels more trapped because he knows he has no excuses for leaving. As long as the relationship is troubled, he knows he has an excuse for leaving, and there is no threat of entrapment.

He pointed out that he tended to live the life of a vagabond because he could never fully commit himself to one place or one job. He rented a television set because he could never settle on just which set to buy, and noted that most major purchases were difficult or impossible to deal with.

Now let's look at the commitmentphobic's job pattern. Basically, he can't bear to feel trapped there either.

When he talks about wanting a solid relationship, he is speaking in the general, not the specific. When he talks like this, he's not making promises.

He may have a permanently temporary attitude toward home base; this can be reflected by sublets or temporary leases, or by a serious reluctance to commit himself to buying furniture.

No matter how long he's known the woman or how casually they have met, if he's strongly attracted to her, he immediately starts thinking of marriage. Frightened by even the thought, he ends it, right there. A man such as this may know that he can't make a permanent commitment, and be really sincere about not wanting to use or mislead a woman by allowing a relationship to develop further.

don't do anything unless you are asked to do it. Once the relationship has reached this stage, the typical commitmentphobic feels too guilty to ask anything of a woman because he doesn't want her to ask too much of him.

When I think of getting married, I worry that my life will be over. I don't want to lose my lifestyle, which in my case often turns out to be going home, watching television alone, and reheating an old slice of pizza.

The man who is able to make a commitment rarely does this kind of dancing back and forth. He may move slowly, but he continues to move in the same direction.

You, on the other hand, probably have a history of total reliability and dependability. You pride yourself on the fact that people can count on you. In essence, you do what you say you're going to do. Consequently, you think long and hard before you say you will do anything. If you came on to anyone the way he comes on to you, it would mean something. It would mean that you were prepared to do everything possible to try and develop a real, long-term relationship.

What a woman must do at the Beginning is stay realistic and slow the relationship down. At the Beginning, you have a great deal of ego leverage and control. Use it to set the pace and tone that will lead to permanency. No matter how much you're tempted to go along with his Hollywood style, don't do it.

I hold a little fundraiser every day. Its called going to work.

I don't expect perfection, I expect excellence." I expect 100 percent effort in all you do.

Think about all the time, brainpower, and social or political capital you continued to spend on some commitment only because you didn't like the idea of quitting.

A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits.

Think about all the time, brainpower, and social or political capital you continued to spend on some commitment only because you didn't like the idea of quitting.

From what we've seen personally, the best predictor of success among young economists and journalists is whether they absolutely love what they do. If they approach their job like—well, a job—they aren't likely to thrive.

The message is unequivocal: failure may be an option but quitting is not.

When you're that engaged, you'll run circles around other people even if they are more naturally talented.

If you want your boomerang to come back, first you've got to throw it.

Danny Way explains: "It's either find the zone or suffer the consequences—there's no other choice available.

Fully alive and deeply committed is a risky business.