Aristotle said that "man is a rational animal" and Schopenhauer said that "man is a metaphysical animal", but in fact, it is difficult for us to guarantee eternal rationality, and once tempted, it is difficult to control our rationality.
For example, I have made up my mind to lose weight, but it is inevitable to indulge myself when I see delicious food; Originally, the wallet had been smashed, and buy buy bought it. He couldn't control the double eleven and bought it. With a fitness card, we rarely go to the gym ... this situation in which sensibility trumps rationality is staged from time to time in our lives. Our actions often deviate from our inner expectations and lead us into inner conflicts. Is there any way to plan ahead? Of course, I tied myself to the mast with Ulysses contract.
Ulysses is a hero in Greek legend. When he returned home in triumph in the Trojan War, he learned that his ship would pass an island on the way home. A group of beautiful Sai Ren lived on the island. Those sirens can sing their own songs, but these songs have terrible magic, which can make people fascinated, hit the ship on the rocks and die at the bottom of the sea.
After Ulysses knew it, he desperately wanted to hear the legendary siren song, but he didn't want to let himself and the sailors die at the bottom of the sea. He knows that he is rational and controllable at the moment, but once he hears the siren's song, he will lose his mind and become uncontrollable at that time. In order to solve this problem, Ulysses ordered his men to tie themselves to the mast of the ship. All the sailors blocked their ears with beeswax to avoid hearing the siren singing, and agreed not to untie themselves under any circumstances. In this way, Ulysses was tied to the mast, and with the help of such external forces, he defeated himself who lost his mind or was completely controlled by his feelings and returned smoothly.
Ulysses knew that he couldn't make a rational decision in the future, so he arranged things in advance to limit his possible wrong behavior. This transaction between the present and the future ego is called the Ulysses contract.
In life, we can use Ulysses contract to help us make rational decisions, balance the relationship between rationality and sensibility, and make our behavior more in line with our inner expectations.
For example, if the motivation to go to the gym is insufficient, you can set some suitable appointments to meet at the gym, which is equivalent to tying yourself to the mast with the pressure of sticking to the social contract. For example, when you lose weight, empty your snacks at home, and when you quit smoking and drinking, empty your cigarettes and alcohol, so that you will not be so tempted. Some college students will exchange their social accounts before the final exam, and then change their passwords so that neither of them can log in until the exam is over. It is not difficult to see that this is actually a rational self who arranges things in advance, so that the future irrational self, or the self completely controlled by emotions, can't do anything wrong, that is, tie himself to the mast and resist temptation.
The key to the Ulysses Contract is to realize that you will become different people in different backgrounds. In order to make a better decision, we should not only know ourselves, but also all ourselves. Maintaining self-awareness and self-knowledge, maintaining the balance between rationality and sensibility, and making external behavior conform to internal expectations are important manifestations of mental health.
In a sense, it can also be said that "man is the sum of divinity and beast, and he has both good and evil you can't think of." In this way, a mentally healthy person, rational and perceptual, divine and animal, good and evil, no more, no less, just right.