Struggling with discipline? Try the Ulysses Rule

0:00 If you're smart but not disciplined, use the Ulisses rule. Make a smart decision now to force yourself to act in a certain way in the future. You need to create a system that protects you from yourself. In one of his adventures, Ulisses had to sail past the Siren's Reef, which was littered with shipwrecks and skeletons because no sailor or ship had ever made it through. The sirens song made sailors hallucinate, showing them whatever they most desired, leading them to crash their ships into the reef where the sirens would devour them. Ulisses was wise enough to know he couldn't rely on sheer willpower. Looking at the reef, he thought, "I'm no more disciplined or strong willed than those who failed before me." But he still wanted to hear the siren song, so he ordered his crew to plug their ears

0:45 with wax and tie him to the mast with 10 ropes. He warned them. Just like those sailors who perished, I'm weakwilled. When I hear the sirens, I'll probably scream and curse at you, begging to be freed. But no matter what I say, don't untie me. As they approached the reef, Ulisses felt the power of the siren song taking hold. But before we see whether his plan succeeded or failed, think about how you could use the Ulisses rule in your life. For instance, the writer Victor Hugo, who was wealthy, a socialite, and a heavy drinker, struggled to sit down and write. When he absolutely needed to get work done, he'd use the Ulisses rule. He'd lock himself in his office with only paper and a pen and instruct his servant to take away his clothes and not return them for 4 hours. This way, he eliminated the temptation to leave and party with his

1:31 friends. Using the Ulisses rule means creating a system to outsmart yourself. Instead of trying to resist temptation, you use your intelligence to remove it. For example, there's a YouTuber who uses a Ulyses container to focus during the early hours of the morning. He locks his phone inside a container with a timer set for 3 hours, removing the temptation to check his phone while working. Here's what 95% of people don't understand. Willpower is like a muscle, and it gets depleted throughout the day. That's why it's easier to eat healthy in the morning and more common to break your diet at night when you're tired and your willpower is weaker. Smart people tie themselves to the mast. They acknowledge that their willpower isn't unlimited and use their intelligence to remove temptations. When the sirens started singing, Ulisses heard what he longed

2:18 for most. His wife Penelope and his son Tmicus crying out from the reef, "Ulisses, we love you. We need you." Having been away for years fighting in the Trojan War, Ulisses lost his mind, struggling against the mast and cursing his sailors. But because he had the humility to admit beforehand that willpower alone wouldn't be enough. And because he eliminated the temptation by tying himself to the mast, he survived the siren's trap and eventually made it back to Ithaca to his queen and son. Now take a look at this graph. The turning point in my life happened at 33. Everything started improving when I began focusing on my habits. This shift came after reading Atomic Habits, and it frustrates me that I didn't read it sooner. People who read it before turning 30 have such an advantage. In

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