Flicker of Inspiration Prompt #39: Commitment Device

Norman Rockwell can tell
you, commitment is hard.

We're near the end of February. Do you even remember what your New Year's resolutions were? Maybe it's time for a refresher, a new start, and maybe a way to keep yourself on track.

It's not easy to commit to something. It seems like it should be, though, doesn't it? If it's something important to us, like writing every day, or vital to our health, like not smoking, our rational brains should be able to say, "Indeed, I shall do as I intended." That should be all there is to it, right?

But it's not. There's a disparity between the person we want to be and the person we actually are, and when we're struggling with a commitment it's the person we actually are that's trying to control the situation. But we don't have to be that person, so one way or another we try to turn that person into the person we want to be.

Your writing prompt theme this week is "Commitment Device." Commitment is a broad topic. It can include almost anything - marriage, pet ownership, buying a new sofa, ordering a meal. Even taking a shower involves a commitment - for however long it takes, you can't promise to answer the door or hear the phone ring.

Give us something, 800 words or less, to fit the topic. It can be totally autobiographical but it doesn't have to be. Feel free to include something about what your character (or your self) does or arranges in order to reinforce the commitment.