Ulysses Contracts

If you are like me, you set lots of ambitious goals and habits to follow for the new year. But, you also probably know that you won’t accomplish most of them. Maybe you’ve even given up on the practice altogether.

I’m going to propose that New Year’s resolutions are a worthy practice but that you need to approach them carefully.

First, rather than setting goals, a better practice is to think about who do you want to become? For instance, “I want to become the type of person who creates value in my businesses and saves more than I earn” is a better goal than “I want to make a million dollars this year”. Or, if you are a podcaster, “I want to publish 100 episodes this year for a total of 25 hours of content” is a better goal than “I want a million subscribers.”

In other words, good goals focus on what you can control and revolve around who you become in the process.

The next problem with New Year’s resolutions is that people feel like failures when they give up on them. This is loserthink. Any time you do something to better yourself, even if just once, it is a productive use of time. It can take many attempts to make a habit stick so you should never feel bad about having tried something good for you.

That said, we can all agree that a goal carried through to completion is better than one that’s not. So how do we stick to new habits? How can we discipline ourselves?

The Odysseus (Ulysses) Contract

In the Odyssey, Odysseus had to return home by sailing through water infested with Sirens. Sirens were known to sing a song so beautiful that no sailor could resist it. It caused men to steer their ships into rocks and get lost at sea. As they approached the Sirens, Odysseus instructed his men to put wax in their ears so they wouldn’t be tempted by the songs. Then, he had them tie him to the mast with strict instructions that no matter what he told them, not to untie him until they were past the Sirens.

This is the Odysseus Contract. It’s when, like Odysseus tied to the mast, you’re so commited to accomplishing something that you give yourself no other choice than to succeed.

I saw this in the military: I knew a guy who joined because he had drug issues. Being in the military gave him an excuse to stop using. But more importantly, there were dire consequences if he relapsed, i.e. dishonorable discharge. The military was the Odysseus contract he needed.

Some people set up accountability systems using money. For example, if someone says they will follow a particular diet. When they stray from that diet, they donate a predetermined amount of money to their least favorite charity.

There are countless ways to establish Odysseus contracts. But the point is, they work.

What can you do so that you have no choice but to follow through on your commitments?