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Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing Kindle Edition

by Pete Davis (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A profoundly inspiring and transformative argument that purposeful commitment and civic engagement can be a powerful force in today’s age of restlessness and indecision.

Most of us have had this experience: browsing through countless options on Netflix, unable to commit to watching any given movie—and losing so much time skimming reviews and considering trailers that it’s too late to watch anything at all. In a book inspired by an idea first articulated in a viral commencement address, Pete Davis argues that this is the defining characteristic of the moment: keeping our options open. We are stuck in “Infinite Browsing Mode”—swiping through endless dating profiles without committing to a single partner, jumping from place to place searching for the next big thing, and refusing to make any decision that might close us off from an even better choice we imagine is just around the corner. This culture of restlessness and indecision, Davis argues, is causing tension in the lives of young people today: We want to keep our options open, and yet we yearn for the purpose, community, and depth that can only come from making deep commitments.

In Dedicated, Davis examines this quagmire, as well as the counterculture of committers who have made it to the other side. He shares what we can learn from the “long-haul heroes” who courageously commit themselves to particular places, professions, and causes—who relinquish the false freedom of an open future in exchange for the deep fulfillment of true dedication. Weaving together examples from history, personal stories, and applied psychology, Davis’s “insightful without being preachy…guide to commitment should be on everyone’s reading list” (Booklist, starred review).

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Well-versed in the current zeitgeist, Davis is insightful without being preachy, and his wise guide to commitment should be on everyone’s reading list." —Booklist (starred review)

“A celebration of caring and community within our often bloodless digital world . . . Davis makes a persuasive case for dedication as ‘an alternative path of life.’” —Kirkus Reviews

“A manifesto for deeper civic engagement to create a path toward a more robust democracy.” —The Progressive

"If you have ever struggled to cross the Rubicon and commit to an endeavor that would foreclose other options, then this book is for you. Pete Davis provides a provocative countercultural thesis for our time, explaining why resolve and stamina are in such short supply and how we can, in an era of infinite browsing, learn to be dedicated." —Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and founder and CEO of Character Lab

"Pete Davis is one of America’s most creative and inspiring young writers—sparkling with enthusiasm, yet profound beyond his years. In Dedicated he challenges his peers to change America and themselves for the better by committing themselves to something greater than self. It’s a sermon, all right, but it’s far too lively to be just a sermon. And those of us a bit older could learn a thing or two by eavesdropping." —Robert D. Putnam, Research Professor, Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

“Pete Davis’s Dedicated is a magisterial book on the moral Counterculture of Commitment in our shallow culture of money and fear. His depth of wisdom and scope of knowledge are astonishing. And his powerful vision of decency and democracy are compelling.” —Cornel West, Harvard University

"The most countercultural act you can do today may be committing to something for a long period of time, maybe forever. That's the word that married couples tend to balk on these days—not 'love,' 'honor' or even 'obey,' but 'forever' or 'all my life.' In his provocative new book Pete Davis shows us why commitment is so difficult for people today, but why it is also not only beneficial, but necessary, if we are ever to accomplish anything of value or live lives of depth." —James Martin, SJ, author of Learning to Pray

“This is a brilliant book about one of the defining predicaments of our time: the temptation to keep our options open. Pete Davis is the fresh voice of wisdom that our culture desperately needs—Dedicated is required reading for the 21st century pursuit of happiness and success.” —Adam Grant, New York Times–bestselling author of Think Again and Originals, and host of the TED podcast "WorkLife"

“An engaging exploration of how to restore meaning and purpose and the satisfactions of enduring commitment in an era of short attention spans and infinite choice. In this greatly expanded version of a 2018 Harvard commencement speech, Pete Davis challenges his generation—and all of us—to reconnect to the institutions and relationships that truly matter—and will build a better world." —Drew Gilpin Faust, President Emerita of Harvard University, and author of This Republic of Suffering

"In a society of endless possibilities, I’ve long felt there was something radical about commitment. Instead of letting that insight take the form of a passing thought, Pete Davis devoted himself to exploring the same intuition, and the result is a thoughtful, original, erudite, and inspiring manifesto. We can scroll through life and stay in the shallows, or limit our options and connect on a deeper more satisfying level. Devoting your attention to the wisdom in these pages is a good way to begin.” —Astra Taylor, documentary filmmaker and author of Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone

“My dad used to say, ‘If it’s worth doing, it's worth doing right.' It was his take on the importance of dedication. Most everything that matters requires dedication: day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out. At the end of every effort you want to be able to look back and feel the kind of satisfaction that can’t come from staying on the sidelines. Pete Davis’s Dedicated is a book that speaks to me and shares important messages and values that can be helpful to anyone who is facing a challenge or simply looking to excel in what’s important to you.” —Cal Ripken Jr., Hall of Fame shortstop and third baseman

"This is the book we need right now, more than ever. There's no useful forward motion without enrollment, and that requires commitment. Pete Davis knows that it's up to each of us to choose to matter." —Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing

About the Author

Pete Davis is a civic advocate from Falls Church, Virginia. He works on projects aimed at deepening American democracy and solidarity. Pete is the cofounder of the Democracy Policy Network, a state policy organization focused on raising up ideas that deepen democracy. In 2015, he cofounded Getaway, a company that provides simple, unplugged escapes to tiny cabins outside of major cities. His Harvard Law School graduation speech, “A Counterculture of Commitment,” has been viewed more than 30 million times.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08LDYGTR7
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster (May 4, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 4, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1901 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 271 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #147,783 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #106 in Social Philosophy
- #119 in Social Psychology & Interactions
- #358 in Happiness

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4.4 211 ratings

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Pete Davis

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Pete Davis is a writer and civic advocate from Falls Church, Virginia.

He works on civic projects aimed at deepening American democracy and solidarity. Pete is the co-founder of the Democracy Policy Network, a state policy organization focused on raising up ideas that deepen democracy, and is currently co-producing a documentary on the life and work civic guru Robert Putnam. In 2015, he cofounded Getaway, a company that provides simple, unplugged escapes to tiny cabins outside of major cities. His Harvard Law School graduation speech, “A Counterculture of Commitment,” has been viewed more than 30 million times — and was recently expanded into a book: Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in An Age of Infinite Browsing.

Pete is also the author of Our Bicentennial Crisis: A Call to Action for Harvard Law School’s Public Interest Mission, a book on reviving Harvard Law School’s public interest mission, and the co-author of How To Get Away: Finding Balance in our Overworked, Overcrowded, Always-On World, a book articulating Getaway’s philosophy of balancing technology and disconnection, city and nature, and work and leisure. His opinion pieces have appeared in The New York Daily News, Aeon, The Guardian, Fast Company, America Magazine, and The Falls Church News-Press.

Contact Pete at contact@PeteDavis.org, follow Pete on twitter @PeteDDavis, and subscribe to Pete’s newsletter at PeteDavis.substack.com.

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J

A message people need to hear

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024

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This is definitely an eye opening book. Young need to at least be thinking about this. Helps you in mapping out a course in life.

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Destiny_awaits

One of the best books of the year!

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2021

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One of the best books of the year. So well written. Pete does a great job of bringing into clarification on where we are at in our Infinite Browsing, how it came about, and what we individually can choose to do with it. While I am not a history buff, the examples he gave throughout the book were pertinent, and necessary. I really think we should all read and contemplate this book and what it's contents mean in our lives. I know that I do not want to stay in the hallway. Yes, you have to read the book to find out what that means. Finding a room here, and going to stay in it!

6 people found this helpful

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Ryan Boissonneault

The Benefits of Limiting Your Options in an Age of Infinite Browsing

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021

The late sociologist Zygmunt Bauman described life in the modern world as living in “liquid modernity,” or a state of constant change and uncertainty. Having liberated ourselves from traditional social structures and hierarchies—and with the rise of technology, cheap and efficient travel, and the internet—we now have infinitely more options available to us than at any time in history. Our religious beliefs, occupations, and social relationships are no longer pre-established at birth, freeing us to craft our own identities, careers, and lifestyles out of an endless variety of choices.

Faced with this overwhelming variety, we feel the tension of being pulled in opposite directions. On the one hand, we feel compelled to commit to a specific profession, cause, relationship, or residence, but on the other hand, we feel the need to keep our options open. And with so many options right at our fingertips, and with a culture that encourages distraction, novelty, and change, we experience this tension in virtually every area of our lives.

Whether contemplating major life decisions like choosing a career or a spouse or simply settling on which Netflix movie to watch, we live in near-constant fear that we’re making the wrong decision. And with so many possibilities available to us, there’s no shortage of opportunities to feel like we’re missing out on something better.

The problem is, while keeping our options open is the safer choice, it’s not, in the end, the more satisfying choice. The life well-lived is often a life of deep commitment to a specific cause, profession, or project, and we know this intuitively based on the fact that, while we feel compelled to keep our options open—to stay within “infinite browsing mode”—we also tend to respect those the most who fully commit themselves to specific endeavors, all while feeling a sense of shallowness in our own indecisiveness.

And so we have a paradox: we admire those who belong to the “counterculture of commitment” while ourselves remaining in infinite browsing mode. Finding our way out of this paradox—and the reasons why we should all strive to join the counterculture of commitment—is the subject of Pete Davis’s latest book, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing.

Davis uses a useful analogy. He describes the situation of having our life choices forced on us as living in a locked room (involuntary commitment), whereas the opposite situation—what we now face in the modern world with unlimited choices—is like living in a hallway, forever going from room to room but never committing to any of them (infinite browsing mode). Either scenario leads to dissatisfaction; the ideal way to live, instead, is to browse for a bit, as all young people must do, but then to pick a room and stick with it, thus achieving voluntary commitment.

This is, of course, easier said than done. The modern world is designed to encourage novelty, flexibility, change, and the constant consumption of new experiences. Fear of missing out, buyer’s remorse, and other psychological phenomena haunt our every decision.

But, as Davis points out, endless browsing leads to its own, more insidious, problems: namely, paralysis, anomie, and a feeling of shallowness, isolation, and dissatisfaction with life. Individually, as we pass from project to project, place to place, and relationship to relationship, we never truly feel connected to something larger than ourselves in a more than superficial or fleeting way.

Collectively, this leads to apathy and disconnection. In prioritizing individual freedom without any corresponding sense of duty or obligation to others, modernity has caused us to collectively lose our connection to the community and to the common good. We are free to do anything, we commit to nothing, and social problems remain unsolved as a result of our collective indifference.

This culture of open options has infiltrated our sense of morality, our education, and our careers. Our education prioritizes resume-building and the attainment of abstract skills over commitment to craft and specific subjects, thus encouraging breadth over depth. And when we graduate, we bounce from job to job with no sense of dedication to any one company or position—and with no reciprocal commitment from our employers to us.

We’re in perpetual “preparation for advancement” mode, more concerned about achievement and money than about our passion for the type of work or social causes we’re fighting for. As Davis wrote:

“You never have to switch gears from preparation and advancement to purpose and attachment, because everyone is still set on keeping their options open. High school is all about keeping options open for college, college is about keeping options open for jobs, and now the jobs are about keeping options open for other jobs. It is “preparation for advancement” all the way down. There’s a precise word for this: careerism. It’s valuing our individual journey of achievement over everything else.”

But this constant striving for advancement is the modern equivalent of the Sisyphean task of forever pushing a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down, ready to be rolled back up all over again. Not only is this detrimental to our individual well-being, it causes the breakdown of institutions and democracy as we become so self-absorbed and apathetic that we no longer participate in our civic duties or notice when our political representatives sacrifice the common good for their own benefit.

But Davis is optimistic that anyone can learn to live a more enriching life, as he offers a plethora of stories about individuals who broke out of infinite browsing mode to become “long-haul heroes,” dedicated to a craft or cause and doing their part over the years to make the world a better place. He tells the story of Karen Armstrong, a former physical therapist who—instead of complaining about the empty lot filled with trash next to her New York home—took it upon herself to clean up the trash herself and replace the empty lot with a community garden. She has since committed to food justice activism, community gardening, and farming, making New York City a better place to live. It is through this sort of connection to a cause, to the community, and to others that people can best lead satisfying lives.

Overall, Davis’s argument is compelling and, I think, largely correct, but the problem is that there’s a whole lot of repetition involved to stretch this concept from its original form as a Harvard commencement speech to a 250-page book. In the second part of the book, for example, the fear of regret, the fear of association, and the fear of missing out each get a dedicated chapter despite the fact that these concepts were adequately covered in the first part of the book. The reader may enjoy all of the individual stories (I myself was not a particular fan of the excessive number of religion-based examples), but the argument itself can be expressed in far more concise terms.

And the argument itself is not without need of qualification. Obviously, it is only through commitment to an extended project that people can accomplish great things, and it is often the case that long-term commitments lead to greater life satisfaction and collectively to a better-functioning democracy. But at the same time, it’s important to note the dangers of committing too early; without sufficient experience, how can one even know what they’re passionate about?

Davis, to his credit, does address this concern, but there is a larger point he fails to consider; namely, the importance of cultivating a wide-range of knowledge and experience. In Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein makes essentially the opposite point: that diverse experience across multiple fields is more relevant in today's society than specialization because the problems of the modern world require interdisciplinary knowledge in the implementation of creative solutions.

Creativity itself—the crafting of something new via the connection of previously disparate elements—often requires a broad range of knowledge and experience that Davis downplays throughout the book. Think of Steve Jobs taking a calligraphy course in college that led to Apple’s beautiful typography, or to the great polymaths of history like Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin who, due to their breadth of knowledge, contributed to the betterment of society by making advances in several fields.

In the Harvard Business Review article titled Sometimes the Best Ideas Come from Outside Your Industry, the article’s authors provide several examples of innovative solutions that came from outside the field, such as “an escalator company that borrowed a solution from the mining industry in figuring out how to install escalators in shopping malls.” As the authors write:

“When you’re working on a problem and you pool insights from analogous areas, you’re likely to get significantly greater novelty in the proposed solutions, for two reasons: People versed in analogous fields can draw on different pools of knowledge, and they’re not mentally constrained by existing, ‘known’ solutions to the problem in the target field. The greater the distance between the problem and the analogous field, the greater the novelty of the solutions.”

This applies on an individual level as well: the more range you have in terms of knowledge and experience, the more information you have at your disposal in creating novel solutions. This ability to bring fresh perspectives to a problem is not, to my mind, adequately considered by Davis.

So take the argument for what it’s worth. Dedication to specific projects and causes is usually necessary for the pursuit of individual happiness (by connecting us to other people and to larger social causes and crafts) and in the solving of social problems at the local level. At the same time, one should guard against taking this advice too far, committing too early or too intensely and thereby limiting their own cognitive flexibility and capacity for creativity.

7 people found this helpful

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T. Colman

Uplifting and inspired storytelling

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2023

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Love this take on commitment. This book is a great complement to Steven Covey's 7 Habits for a base.

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Gregory Katz

Good points that get lapse in al of the references. More quotes than individual writing.

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021

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Just like the title states. I think there are great points here but too many quotes, references and examples vs writing.

5 people found this helpful

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M

Exceptional

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2021

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An inspiring essay on life, rich yet easy prose that goes down like candy and is worth the read in its own right, almost imperceptibly laced with teachings from the highest traditions of centuries of philosophy, and an insightful, provocative message that will catalyze if not force reflection likely to leave you both motivated to do better and at great peace with yourself. Strongly recommend.

14 people found this helpful

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Marcus Schaller

Just the push I needed

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2021

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This is the exact book I needed to read, at the exact time I needed to read it. Helped me understand why I have such a hard time choosing a long-term focus.

6 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Eye opening!

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021

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This book highlights the beauty of commitment in different aspects not just romantic. We’re always seeking what’s new and exciting, but never realize how beautiful it is to go thru ups and downs with hobbies, books, movies, etc. In today’s world it’s easy to lose focus, but those who commit are indeed the most admirable, most fit, most successful.

5 people found this helpful

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Luis Hurtado

Una reflexión valiosa sobre la crisis de la indecisión.

Reviewed in Mexico on May 8, 2022

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Hay muchas ideas muy interesantes que nos ayudan a entender el contexto de oportunidades que tenemos y la dificultad que experimentamos para navegar en él. Sin adelantar más, este libro me ayudó a ser mas consciente de la importancia de la seguridad emocional para tomar decisiones y el impacto que esto tiene en mi calidad de vida. Espero que lo disfrutes también.

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Cameron

A life enhancing ride into ourselves

Reviewed in Canada on July 27, 2021

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This was one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s message is profound and deep and brings the reader face to face with the commitments we have and those we have abandoned. Why is this book one of the best? It’s message, its meaning and its timing.

It is well organized, the prose is engaging, the examples are good and varied as well. There is a blend of philosophy, science, social commentary, advocacy and yet all done gently enough to avoid being a polemic or manifesto, yet persuasive enough to make you sit up and pay attention to the way you treat your commitments. It’s a book we need now and the most important book I’ve read in years.

One person found this helpful

Lector

Bad quality edition

Reviewed in Spain on August 3, 2022

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Pobre encuadernamiento, páginas mal cortadas (parecían cortadas a mano), cada pagina tiene un tamaño distinto y papel de baja calidad.

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Amazon Kunde

This book is a little treasure

Reviewed in Germany on June 7, 2021

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Sometimes I come across awesome books. Little treasures to read. This is such a golden book. This book is ‘the extension’ of Pete’s awesome 2018 Harvard graduation speech, which I recommend watching. It’s a deeply inspiring 9 minutes video, you should go there if you are also struggling to narrow the focus in your life or work.

What you can learn from this book:

1. Understand the infinite browsing mode

Pete Davis explains the challenge of our ‘liquid modernity’: we can’t commit because we are afraid of doing that. I’ve personally experienced commitment to one expertise area is a difficult move. Davis’ explains the 3 fears this could come from:
- The fear of regret: we worry that if we commit to something, we will later regret having not committed to something else.
- The 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.
- The fear of missing out (see also my previous book review about FOMO): we feel that if we commit to something, the responsibilities that come with it will prevent us from being everything, everywhere, to everyone.

2. The downside of keeping the options open

Davis explains that keeping the options open at first, is bringing the joy of new experiences but after a while starts getting us stuck and dissatisfied. It’s something I’ve experienced with so many (unfocused) people: they love to keep the options open but get burned out from jumping around and saying yes to almost everything. They all have the ambition to get known as subject matter experts but they are struggling to commit to the focus it requires. They get stuck in their infinite browsing mode which almost always leads to great despair in the long run. Davis’ book gives us great examples of the downside and provides us with hope and the process to leave our vicious liquid state.

3. The joy of depth

I will never forget Davis' saying: ‘Depth is your superpower’. Depth has been my way of living as a consultant the past decade and nobody ever described it as beautiful as Pete Davis: DEPTH IS YOUR SUPERPOWER. Wow! When we start going deep in our craft, we gain mastery, says Davis. And the depth that comes from such extended focus on our single craft, is a superpower. The narrowing is difficult (plenty of monsters waiting for us), says Davis, but the more time we add to something, the more beautiful it becomes. Davis finishes the book by stating that depth makes the ordinary extraordinary. What a wonderful closing.

Pete has inspired me tremendously (I listened to his audiobook - with Pete reading it himself - during a 7 hours car drive) and this treasure book will undoubtedly help me to inspire my clients to develop their superpower. Don't forget his graduation speech! Amazing!

Deeply recommended reading (or listening)!

2 people found this helpful

AdnaO

Disappointed with the biding

Reviewed in Germany on September 29, 2023

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I am really disappointed with the binding of the book - looks cheap and if someone butchered the pages with a blunt object. This is really shameful :/

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