Why does commitment exit criteria fail?

The most common reason commitment exit criteria fails: Setting exit criteria so vague that they never clearly trigger. 'If this stops feeling right' is not an exit criterion — it is an invitation to rationalize indefinitely, because nothing ever stops feeling right all at once. It decays gradually, and at every point along the gradient you can tell yourself it is not quite bad enough to quit. Effective exit criteria are binary: either the condition is met or it is not. 'Revenue drops below $10K/month for three consecutive months' triggers cleanly. 'Revenue is disappointing' never does.

The fix: Choose one active commitment that you suspect may have already passed its expiration — a project, a relationship, a habit, a role, a subscription, a recurring obligation. Write down three conditions under which you would release this commitment. Be specific: use numbers, dates, or observable states, not feelings. Now ask yourself honestly — has any of these conditions already been met? If the answer is yes, you have your first test of whether you can honor exit criteria after the fact. If the answer is no, file the criteria somewhere you will encounter them at your next review point. Either way, you now have a written standard for this commitment that did not exist five minutes ago.

The underlying principle is straightforward: Define in advance what conditions would justify releasing a commitment.