Committed Action; How to Get Going When Everything Is Hard
As a therapist working in downtown Hamilton with hundreds of people over the years, I have supported thousands of moments of committed action. Committed action is the process of taking concrete steps that flow from your values. It is all about taking values from words you say to the way you live. It is common to think that to engage in committed action, a person needs to make all unwanted feelings and thoughts stop. However, meaningful and purposeful lives grow from action even when discomfort, fear, or self-doubt are present.
Values vs. Goals: A Crucial Distinction
To understand committed action clearly, it helps to differentiate values from goals. Values describe directions or ongoing qualities of action, such as being a caring parent, cultivating curiosity as an artist, or serving with honour in high stress public service careers. Values describe how a person wants to live. Values cannot be completed or permanently checked off. Goals, on the other hand, are specific and measurable endpoints, like achieving a degree, or running a race in a certain time.
Goals can be great. They can give a clear fixed point to work towards. For example, you might have a goal of getting promoted at your job. You can break that goal down into smaller actions to make it happen. However, sometimes goals remain out of reach no matter what a person does. For example, you can’t get promoted if there isn’t a position to get promoted to. When this happens, you want to go back and examine the values behind your goal. Ask yourself, “What does achieving my goal say about me? What value does it demonstrate?” Then, ask yourself: “How do I start to work to express my values in my current context?”
Moving Forward in the Presence of Obstacles
Painful thoughts, emotions, memories, sensations all often show up precisely when people attempt to change their lives. Fear of rejection might arise when you are trying to show your partner that you care. Embarrassment might appear when you start to lift weights after years away from exercise, and you have to reach for the smallest set of dumbbells. Discomfort accompanies so many meaningful changes. Committed action acknowledges that these uncomfortable feelings in you are natural, not a sickness.
Rather than waiting until anxiety or negative thoughts disappear, committed action tries to bring a clearly stated value to bear while the discomfort continues. For example, the person doing a speech at a wedding does not wait for the fear and doubt to vanish. They may continue to wonder if something will go wrong when they go up there. However, they move up to the mic because they want to live a life with more freedom and build loving relationships that are about intimacy not just avoiding a bad outcome.
Flexibility and Persistence
Committed action is often misunderstood as sheer willpower. However it may be better understood as a flexible persistence. Flexibility is crucial because circumstances change, values deepen, and obstacles emerge. If you value being hospitable to your cousins at Thanksgiving and then the context changes and some of your guests no longer eat meat, you can start to make other food for them to express that value of hospitality, rather than getting stuck on the one action plan of making the best turkey that will make them like meat.
Persistence means continuing to engage in your valued actions even when motivation fluctuates or context changes. It is not about pushing through at all costs. It’s about returning, again and again, to the behaviours that align with what matters most. This combination of persistence and flexibility helps people maintain momentum without getting stuck in perfectionism or discouragement.
Building Committed Action Through Skills
Committed action is supported by specific skills that can be sharpened in therapy including:
Breaking actions into small, achievable steps. Large goals can be overwhelming; small actions are more sustainable and reinforce a sense of effectiveness.
Tracking progress. Scheduling actions and tracking follow-through can create structure and accountability.
Practicing willingness. This means opening up to uncomfortable feelings that arise during valued action.
Reviewing and adjusting action plans. This ensures that behaviour remains aligned with evolving values and life situations.
Living a Meaningful Life
Coming to committed action isn’t about becoming a perfect person, it’s about finding ways to move towards meaningful living. It is finding ways to move from your values into meaningful action right now.
If you feel you could benefit from exploring your values and coming to some truly meaningful committed action, then I am here to help. Book a free 15-minute consultation or an appointment with me.
