The Power of Commitment

I spent my twenties moving between cities, never finding one that felt worth settling down in. Then, in my thirties, I met the woman who would become my wife, and we rented an apartment in Turin, Italy, just twenty minutes from my parents. Shortly afterward, something unexpected happened: I had committed to Turin for practical reasons, not because it felt special. But the act of committing transformed how I experienced it. Once I knew Turin would be my home for the next decade, I began living there differently. I invested in relationships with neighbors and local shopkeepers. I decorated our apartment thoughtfully, buying furniture I genuinely liked: things I never would have purchased for a temporary place.

We often think we should wait to commit until we find something worth committing to. But sometimes, it's the commitment itself that creates the worth.

This doesn't mean you should commit blindly to anything. Rather, it means there's a limit to how good something can feel before you commit to it. Commitment is often what transforms something good into something great.

This principle extends not only to the choice of one’s residence but also to romantic relationships, friendships, careers, and hobbies. Waiting for perfection before committing can be counterproductive, because it is precisely commitment that creates the conditions for an option to become exceptional.

Related: my article on long-term commitment and its application to social media.