"I want to commit. I just... can't seem to do it."

I hear this constantly. People who genuinely want to go all-in but have a history of quitting. Starting and stopping. Letting themselves down.

Here's what I've learned: Commitment isn't a feeling you find. It's a structure you build.

If you're waiting to "feel committed" before you act committed, you'll wait forever. The feeling follows the action. Not the other way around.

So how do you build commitment when your track record is quitting?

1. Make it public. Tell people exactly what you're doing. Post about it. Put your reputation on the line. External accountability fills the gap when internal motivation fails.

2. Make quitting expensive. Pay for something upfront. Make a bet with someone. Create consequences for stopping. When quitting costs something real, you quit less.

3. Remove the decision. Don't wake up and decide whether to work on it. Decide once, then remove the daily choice. Same time, same place, non-negotiable. The fewer decisions you make, the less willpower you burn.

4. Shrink the commitment. "I'm going all-in on this business" is too big. "I'm working on this for 2 hours every morning before anything else" is actionable. Commit to the process, not just the outcome.

5. Survive the first quit impulse. Everyone wants to quit around week 2-3. The initial excitement fades, results haven't shown up yet, and your brain wants out. Know it's coming. Push through once. That's when commitment starts to feel real.

6. Stack small wins. Every day you show up is a deposit in your commitment account. Every kept promise to yourself builds self-trust. Small wins compound into unshakeable commitment.

You're not broken. You're not incapable of commitment.

You've just been relying on motivation instead of building structure.

Build the structure. The commitment follows.

Done negotiating.

-Joel