Building on our willingness, rationality, efforts, intentions and ideas, we can effectively act.
- You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. [attributed to Henry Ford]
- Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work. [attributed to Stephen King]
An intention and an idea bear fruit only when they are carried into action. For the committed person, willingness and rationality are not part-time. Effort and openness are not merely occasional. Thinking and having new ideas are not rarities.
“The phenomenon of commitment is a cornerstone of human social life. Commitments make individuals’ behavior predictable in the face of fluctuations in their desires and interests, thereby facilitating the planning and coordination of joint actions involving multiple agents . . . Moreover, commitment also facilitates cooperation by making individuals willing to contribute to joint actions to which they wouldn’t be willing to contribute if they, and others, were not committed to doing so . . .” Commitments are essential in individual life, public and social activism, to long-term romantic relationships, and in other settings.
An essential goal, then, is to keep commitments. Making a promise can aid in keeping commitments.
Engagement is the fruit of commitment. It is a first step on the road to excellence.
Real
True Narratives
From the dark side:
- Lawrence Wright, The Plague Year: America in the Time of COVID (Knopf, 2021): “America was ranked the most prepared country in the world to confront an infectious disease. There was a playbook, simulations had been done. So, what happened?”
Technical and Analytical Readings
Acceptance and commitment therapy for substance abuse and other disorders:
- Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin & Julie M. Petersen, The Oxford Handbook of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Oxford University Press, 2023).
- Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin & Clarissa W. Ong, ACT in Steps: A Transdiagnostic Manual for Learning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Oxford University Press, 2021).
- Russ Harris, Trauma-Focused ACT: A Practitioner’s Guide to Working with Mind, Body, and Emotion Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Context Press, 2021).
- Chad LeJeune, "Pure O" OCD: Letting Go of Obsessive Thoughts with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (New Harbinger Publications, 2023).
- Kelly G. Wilson, The Wisdom to Know the Difference: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Workbook for Overcoming Substance Abuse (New Harbinger Publications, 2012).
- Steven C. Hayes, Kirk D. Stroshal & Kelly G. Wilson, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change (The Guilford Press, 2011).
- Steven C. Hayes & Kirk D. Stroshal, A Practical Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Springer Science, 2004).
- Steven C. Hayes, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (New Harbinger Publications, 2005).
- Russ Harris, ACT Made Simple: An Easy-to-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (New Harbinger Publications, 2009).
- Jason B. Luoma, Steven C. Hayes & Robyn Walser, Learning ACT: An Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Skills-Training Manual for Therapists (New Harbinger Publications, 2007).
- John P. Forsyth & Georg H. Eifert, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias & Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (New Harbinger Publications, 2008).
- Georg H. Eifert & John P. Forsyth, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders: A Practitioner's Treatment Guide to Using Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Values-Based Behavior Change Strategies (Nerw Harbinger Publications, 2005).
- Douglas W. Woods & Michael P. Twohig, Trichotillomania: An ACT-Enhance Behavior Therapy Approach (Oxford University Press, 2008).
- Scott Stossel, My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014): an examination of “the painful mystery of anxiety”.
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
- Michelle de Kretser, Theory and Practice: A Novel (Catapult, 2025): “. . . a young graduate student gets caught in the gap between ideals and real life.”
Poetry
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Medieval music of southern Europe: Jordi Savall has become a champion of the music from this region and period. In it, we hear the early stirrings of the human spirit with a distinctly Mediterranean flair:
- Folías de España, 1200-1700 (1969-1983) (256’)
- Javier, La Ruta de Oriente (The Route to the Orient) (2006) (154’), which combines European and Oriental influences
- El Cancionero de la Colombina (1451-1506) (2009) (72’)
- Alfonso X. El Sabio, Cantigas de Santa Maria (2009) (78’)
- Cant de la Sibil-la (1999) (61’)
- Altre Follie: Spanish follies from 1500-1700 (2004) (77’)
- Isabel I - Reina de Castilla y Aragon: Darkness and Lights in the Time of the First Renaissance Queen, Isabel of Castile (2003) (78’)
- Ensemble PAN (Project Ars Nova) has also produced a recording, “The Island of St. Hylarion” (1991), which rivals or exceeds Savall’s work.
Beethoven’s earliest piano sonatas are works of a master, early in his development:
- Piano Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 2/1 (1795) (approx. 19-21’)
- Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2 (1795) (approx.23-25’)
- Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3 (1795) (approx. 25-27’)
Other works:
- Einar Englund, Cello Concerto (1954) (approx. 23’): In each movement, the orchestra announces a commitment, and the cello carries it out.
- Bernardo Pasquini, Quindici Sonate a Due Cimbali (15 sonatas for two harpsichords) (1704) (approx. 80’)
- William Boyce, 8 symphonies (1760) (approx. 60’)
Albums:
- Alan Broadbent Trio, “Trio in Motion” (2020) (56’): “Alan Broadbent is one of those pianists . . . that is simply incapable of playing a classy note. He plays to his strength here, in trio format, with the rich bass work of Harvie S and drummer Billy Mintz on a collection of tunes that reveals Broadbent’s dna, namely bebop.”
Music: songs and other short pieces
Visual Arts
- Jean Arp, Rising Up (1962)
