Commitment Devices and Stoic Resilience Overcome Unreliable Willpower

Key Quotes

"It's one of the most critical and dangerous moments in perhaps the greatest story ever told odysseus ties himself to the mast of the ship because it's the only way to resist steering towards the beautiful sound of the sirens it's an ingenious little trick that makes him the first person to ever hear the sirens and live to tell the tale to avoid fatally crashing into the rocks where countless ships lay wrecked their sailors lured to their deaths by a temptation they could not control"

The author, Ryan Holiday, uses the story of Odysseus as a foundational example of a "commitment device." Holiday explains that Odysseus's act of tying himself to the mast was a deliberate strategy to overcome an overwhelming temptation that had led countless others to destruction. This highlights the core idea that foresight and pre-emptive action are crucial when facing predictable, powerful temptations.

"The behavioral scientist katie milkman talked about this is being the original example of what they call in behavioral science a commitment device a way of deliberately constraining ourselves to help us achieve our goals it's talked about in every behavioral science book and every behavioral science class she explained because we think of it as the original example of someone facing temptation and coming up with a clever workaround to prevent giving in"

Holiday connects the ancient story of Odysseus to modern behavioral science through the concept of a "commitment device," as explained by behavioral scientist Katie Milkman. Holiday emphasizes that this ancient strategy is recognized in contemporary studies as a key method for self-regulation and goal achievement. This demonstrates how timeless philosophical examples can inform current scientific understanding of human behavior.

"What made odysseus different wasn't that he had more willpower or discipline than the other captains but that he was wise enough to know that he didn't he understood that in those moments with those beautiful voices calling he'd be just as weak as everyone else so he came up with a way to protect himself from himself"

Holiday argues that Odysseus's success was not due to superior willpower but to self-awareness and strategic planning. Holiday explains that Odysseus recognized his own inherent weakness in the face of temptation and proactively created a system to protect himself from his future self. This illustrates the Stoic principle of understanding one's limitations and using that knowledge to build resilience.

"It would be wonderful if we always did what we knew we needed to do but that's not how it goes the world is filled with temptations distractions and forces tugging us towards the rocks so what we need are commitment devices we need constraints that protect us from our weaker selves that keep us on the right course"

Holiday directly applies the concept of commitment devices to contemporary life, stating that external constraints are necessary to navigate a world full of temptations. Holiday asserts that these self-imposed limitations are essential for maintaining focus and preventing oneself from succumbing to distractions. This underscores the practical application of Stoic principles for personal development and goal attainment.

"When I think about marcus aurelius's life what did he go through and I only got into a fraction of it he buried half of his children but this guy got out of bed every morning to me it was a profound act of optimism to say nothing of the fact that he decided to get up early and get after it like that's a person who obviously believes in a better future believes in one's ability to make a difference who believes that what they do matters"

Holiday uses the example of Marcus Aurelius to illustrate the Stoic balance between acknowledging life's difficulties and maintaining an optimistic outlook. Holiday highlights Aurelius's resilience in the face of immense personal tragedy, framing his daily commitment to action as a profound act of optimism. This suggests that Stoic optimism is not about ignoring hardship but about actively engaging with life despite it.

"And to me stoicism is like well that dealing with that this is this is such a good hard question right you're going to love it would you think of victor frankl's approach of logotherapy as a form of stoicism so logotherapy comes from the stoic idea of the logos which is uh the latin word for the way or the word so he is explicitly borrowing from the stoics there"

Holiday draws a direct line between Stoic philosophy and Viktor Frankl's logotherapy, explaining that Frankl's approach is explicitly rooted in Stoic concepts. Holiday notes that "logos," a central Stoic idea representing "the way" or "the word," is the foundation from which logotherapy originates. This demonstrates the enduring influence of Stoic thought on modern psychological and philosophical frameworks for understanding human experience.