Use binding commitment to influence our future actions and others present actions

SparkNotes Condensed:

Odysseus is heading home after the Trojan war and needed to pass the lovely but dangerous Sirens. He was advised by Circe on how to negotiate this obstacle. As Odysseus and his sailors approach the island of the lovely Sirens, Odysseus, plugs his men’s ears with beeswax and has them tying him to the mast of the ship leaving him able to hear the Siren's song's. The Sirens’ song is so seductive that Odysseus begs to be released from his fetters, but his faithful men only bind him tighter.

Inventing the Future

Commitment strategies are all about changing future payoffs to influence present actions - those of our own and those of others.

The future gets invented because we make it so.

References

• The Odyssey Books 12-14 - SparkNotes
• The battle between your present and future self - TED Talk by Daniel Goldstein
• The Odysseus Option - Slate article
• Odysseus, Precommitment, and the Siren Song - Hack The system article