Pete Davis > Quotes

“What accounts for this hesitation? Why do we love committers but act like browsers? I think it’s because of three fears. First, we have a fear of regret: we worry that if we commit to something, we will later regret having not committed to something else. Second, we have a fear of association: we think that if we commit to something, we will be vulnerable to the chaos that that commitment brings to our identity, our reputation, and our sense of control. Third, we have a fear of missing out: we feel that if we commit to something, the responsibilities that come with it will prevent us from being everything, everywhere, to everyone.”
― Pete Davis, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

“That’s what commitments are—alternatives to self-obsession. Commitments free us to dedicate ourselves to something bigger than ourselves—to something beyond our shells. The French philosopher Jacques Maritain said that the meaning of life is “self-mastery for the purpose of self-giving.” This is the challenge of growing up—to turn the corner from self-mastery to self-giving. What is the moment at that corner—between inwardness, growth, and concerted self-development and outwardness, public interestedness, and other-centeredness? Commitment.”
― Pete Davis, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

“The philosopher Roberto Unger introduced me to the direct idea that our roots can lie in the future—and that in a democracy, “prophecy speaks louder than memory.”
― Pete Davis, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

“We call people who won their causes, heroes. But we call people who are in the middle of their causes, crazy.”
― Pete Davis

“Perhaps the most dangerous trend stemming from our modern identity crisis is the practice of taking a tiny scrap of identity that remains after the flood and having an outsize relationship with it. Instead of it being one part of you, it becomes an idol—and you feel a need to signal your devotion to it in dramatic ways.”
― Pete Davis, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

“You’ve probably had this experience: It’s late at night and you start browsing Netflix, looking for something to watch. You scroll through different titles, you watch a couple of trailers, you even read a few reviews—but you just can’t commit to watching any given movie. Suddenly it’s been thirty minutes and you’re still stuck in Infinite Browsing Mode, so you just give up. You’re too tired to watch anything now, so you cut your losses and fall asleep.”
― Pete Davis, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

“I love that the word dedicate has two meanings. First, it means to make something holy (like ’dedicate a memorial’). But it also means to stick at something for a long time (like ’she was dedicated to the project’). I don’t think this is a coincidence: We’re doing something holy when we choose to commit to something.”
― Pete Davis