The most useful mental model around commitment was introduced to me by my own coach and comes from the work of Kierkegaard. Whilst we typically view commitment as a binary thing - either I’m committed or not - Kierkegaard broken commitment down into four levels.

Simply put, the levels are as follows:

1️⃣ I do it as long as I like it

2️⃣ I do it as long as it doesn't interfere with any other important commitments

3️⃣ I do it, knowing it may come at a cost of other things I deem important

4️⃣ I do it in an identity-defining way

There is nothing inherently right or wrong with any of these levels of commitment, but I do believe that doing things of substance will at some point require a level 3 commitment. I remember finding it quite exposing when I first looked at the things I was telling myself I was committed to and realised quite how many of them existed at levels 1 and 2 for me, and how I began to struggle at level 3.