Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2011. Includes bibliographical references (pages 365-379) This dissertation addresses the question: How do people self‐regulate their levels of goal commitment? Study One’s grounded theory study findings provide an account of (1) what specific goal commitment self‐regulation strategies are used in vivo (2) how these specific goal commitment self‐regulation strategies influence goal commitment through the mediating effects of emotional energy availability. Study Two was a positivist study that examined the role of emotional energy availability in mediating the relationship between situational factors (specifically, challenge stressors, hindrance stressors and high quality coworker relationships) and goal commitment. Together, the two studies suggest that emotional energy availability is an important construct in the nomological network of goal commitment (previously unaccounted for in goal commitment research).