Commit to Win: How to Harness the Four Elements of Commitment to Reach Your Goals

by Heidi Reeder

Overview

What do you need besides motivation and willpower?

In Commit to Win, Heidi Reeder, PhD, unpacks over forty years of research by psychologists and economists to show that the key to reaching any goal, whether it’s to hit the gym more often or to finally quit that dead-end job, isn’t motivation, willpower, or determination. It’s commitment. Busting the myths most of us believe about commitment, Reeder shows that it all comes down to four variables:

• Treasures: the benefits we get from working toward a goal,
• Troubles: the difficulties we have to deal with,
• Contributions: the time, money, and effort we invest, and
• Choices: the number of good alternatives we have.

Together, these variables make up a formula that not only measures how committed we are, but also shows which factors we can change to get our commitment level in sync with what we want to do. Packed with practical examples and action plans for a variety of situations, Commit to Win will allow readers to stop wishing for things to be different and instead make practical changes that will naturally empower them to reach their goals. It will appeal to readers of Succeed and The Willpower Instinct.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594631337
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/15/2014
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,107,804
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Heidi Reeder, PhD, is an award-winning associate professor at Boise State University, where she teaches courses in communication and commitment. She has authored articles for leading social psychology journals and provides keynotes and workshops for professional organizations, including Citi Credit Cards, Bank of the Cascades, and DirecTV.

Read an Excerpt

Levels of commitment change, sometimes on a daily basis, depending on the key variables that drive commitment. And here’s the exciting news: some of these variables you can control.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Part I The Power of Commitment

Chapter 1 A Fresh Look at Commitment 3

Chapter 2 The Commitment Equation 27

Part II The Elements of Commitment

Chapter 3 Treasures: What Do You Value? 47

Chapter 4 Troubles: What's Holding You Back? 81

Chapter 5 Contributions: How Much Have You Given? 121

Chapter 6 Choices: What Are Your Alternatives? 149

Part III Engaging the Commitment Equation

Chapter 7 All In 179

Chapter 8 Moving On 193

Chapter 9 Assisting Others 207

Acknowledgments 221

Notes 223

Index 235

What People are Saying About This

Cal Newport

This book sheds light on a crucial (but often overlooked) question: Why do some people persist with important goals while others do not? A must read for those interested in the science of achievement. --Cal Newport, author of So Good They Can't Ignore You

Meg Selig

What a useful and entertaining book! Heidi Reeder's simple explanation of the 4-element formula for commitment can help you into--or out of--a commitment such as a relationship, a workout routine, a job, or a project. A valuable addition to the psychological literature. --Meg Selig, Licensed Professional Counselor, author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success and the "Changepower" blog at psychologytoday.com

From the Publisher

Praise for Commit to Win:

“Commit to Win is at once readable and rich with ideas, both fun and important.  Heidi Reeder reveals the complexities and dispels the myths that surround commitment, and sketches a compelling framework that explains why committing is sometimes so difficult, and how to right the ship when commitment wanes.  Well worth reading if you’ve ever struggled to follow through on a plan that seemed important but somehow fell by the wayside.”
—Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
 
“This book sheds light on a crucial (but often overlooked) question: Why do some people persist with important goals while others do not? A must read for those interested in the science of achievement.”
 —Cal Newport, author of So Good They Can't Ignore You
 
“What a useful and entertaining book! Heidi Reeder’s simple explanation of the 4-element formula for commitment can help you into—or out of—a commitment such as a relationship, a workout routine, a job, or a project. A valuable addition to the psychological literature.”
—Meg Selig, Licensed Professional Counselor, author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success and the "Changepower" blog at psychologytoday.com.
 
“Commit to read this superb book, now!  Heidi Reeder will help you reach your goals.”
—Barbara Morgan, NASA Astronaut (ret.)

Adam Alter

Commit to Win is at once readable and rich with ideas, both fun and important. Heidi Reeder reveals the complexities and dispels the myths that surround commitment, and sketches a compelling framework that explains why committing is sometimes so difficult, and how to right the ship when commitment wanes. Well worth reading if you've ever struggled to follow through on a plan that seemed important but somehow fell by the wayside. --Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave (Assistant Professor of Marketing and Psychology, New York University's Stern School of Business)

Editorial Reviews

03/17/2014
As New Year’s resolutions fade and best-laid plans dissolve, Reeder, a psychologist at Boise State University and corporate consultant, offers a guide on how to successfully stick to new choices and relationships. Reeder’s book follows a clever equation (adapted from social psychologist Caryl Rusbult) of rewards, outlays, and contingencies to show readers at once how commitment ebbs and flows, and also the best ways to control and affect outcomes. Each element is examined through thorough grounding in experimental psychology, showing how even these elements can be used to your advantage. These studies and their surprising conclusions make up the bulk of the book. Rewards, for example, are best found at random—even better if they’re internal, rather than external—and it takes five times as many rewards to account for one countervailing difficulty. But the more you give, the more likely it is you’ll enjoy even the most onerous task. The last three chapters include useful exercises and action plans, which could be better integrated throughout the book, though still make for a practical, actionable guide to embracing commitments and goals. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"[Reeder's] book is delightfully practical as well as informative, packed with intelligence and clarity of both thought and expression. Learned, yet eminently accessible, it is a rare pleasure."
—The Economist

“Commit to Win is at once readable and rich with ideas, both fun and important.  Heidi Reeder reveals the complexities and dispels the myths that surround commitment, and sketches a compelling framework that explains why committing is sometimes so difficult, and how to right the ship when commitment wanes.  Well worth reading if you’ve ever struggled to follow through on a plan that seemed important but somehow fell by the wayside.”
—Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
 
 
“This book sheds light on a crucial (but often overlooked) question: Why do some people persist with important goals while others do not? A must read for those interested in the science of achievement.”
 —Cal Newport, author of So Good They Can't Ignore You
 
 
“What a useful and entertaining book! Heidi Reeder’s simple explanation of the 4-element formula for commitment can help you into—or out of—a commitment such as a relationship, a workout routine, a job, or a project. A valuable addition to the psychological literature.”
—Meg Selig, Licensed Professional Counselor, author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success and the "Changepower" blog at psychologytoday.com.
 
 
“Commit to read this superb book, now!  Heidi Reeder will help you reach your goals.”
—Barbara Morgan, NASA Astronaut (ret.)

From the Publisher