The Ulysses Pact: How to Beat Your Worst Impulses

Oct 29, 2025

The Myth: Odysseus and the Sirens

As Odysseus sailed home from the Trojan War, he knew he would encounter the Sirens—dangerous creatures whose beautiful, irresistible singing lured sailors to their doom. No human could resist the Sirens’ song. Hearing it meant certain disaster, causing sailors to wreck their ships on the rocky shores.

Odysseus knew the risks, but he was also deeply curious. He wanted to experience the song that drove men to madness. Wanting to hear it without falling prey to the temptation, Odysseus sought advice from the goddess Circe. She instructed him to have his men plug their ears with beeswax so they couldn’t hear the song, and to have them tie him firmly to the mast of the ship. In plain words, Odysseus could listen to the enchanting singing but would be physically unable to act on it.

When the ship neared the island, the men followed the plan. As the Sirens sang, Odysseus was overcome with desire. He begged and struggled against the ropes, but his men, deaf to the song and following his prior orders, only tightened his bonds. The ship safely passed, and Odysseus was released, grateful that his foresight had saved him.

The Ulysses Pact

This story illustrates the concept of a Ulysses Pact (also known as a pre-commitment): a decision you make in the present to bind your future self.

The pact’s purpose is to protect your long-term goals from your own short-term impulses. It bridges the gap between your rational, “aspirational self” (which sets goals) and your “future self” (which gets tired, tempted, or weak).

Here’s a simple example: If, after a long day, all you crave is an ice cream, a Ulysses Pact would be telling your partner not to buy it, or locking it somewhere you can’t easily access. You still want the ice cream, but you’ve made it difficult to get.

In psychology, this strategy is about increasing “friction” or resistance. As habit expert James Clear advises in his book Atomic Habits, you want to decrease resistance for good habits (like leaving your running shoes by the door) but increase it for bad habits (like making the ice cream hard to get).

This strategy is also backed by science. Studies show that willpower is a limited resource that depletes the more you use it. A Ulysses Pact bypasses this problem. Instead of relying on willpower in a moment of weakness, you use your rational mind ahead of time to make the bad choice harder.

I use this in my own life. I love sweets, and when I’m tired or anxious, it’s hard to resist them. If I see chocolate, I’ll eat too much. I have some willpower, but it’s much easier to use a Ulysses Pact: I simply don’t buy those things. I don’t bring them into my home. When the craving strikes, the snack isn’t easily available, and the temptation eventually fades.

Other examples include:

Health: Writing an “advance directive” in medicine to make treatment decisions while you are still healthy.
Finance: Freezing your credit card in a block of ice to prevent impulse spending.
Productivity: Giving your phone to a friend or putting it in another room while you pre-commit to studying.

The Ulysses pact is a powerful tool for making better decisions. By voluntarily setting constraints, you safeguard your future self from short-term, irrational choices. It helps you align your actions with your core goals, ensuring that the “you” of today protects the “you” of tomorrow.

If you enjoyed my article, I would recommend you to take a look at the following ones: