Definitionv1

Ulysses contract: a freely made decision in the present that

Ulysses contract: a freely made decision in the present that constrains your choices in the future, built to make boundary violation physically or structurally impossible rather than relying on willpower or in-the-moment resolve

Why This Is a Definition

This definition establishes the precise semantic boundary of 'Ulysses contract' by identifying its genus (freely made decision) and differentia (constrains future choices, makes violation impossible). It distinguishes it from mere intention or willpower reliance and connects it to the Homer's Odyssey example. The definition is essential to understanding the solution to self-boundary failure described in the lesson.

Source Lessons

L-0657

Boundaries with yourself

The most important boundaries are the ones you set with yourself — limits on your own behavior, consumption, and tendencies that would otherwise undermine your goals and values.

Connections

Defines (29)

AxiomDirected Attention as Depletable Resource AxiomHindsight Bias and Calibration Necessity AxiomHabits as Context-Response Associations AxiomExpertise Transforms Perceptual Chunking AxiomCognitive Dissonance Drives Information Avoidance AxiomDual Coding Theory: Verbal and Visual Channels AxiomConversational Memory Asymmetry From Production Planning AxiomAttention as Gate to Conscious Perception AxiomPatterns Exist in Hierarchical Logical Levels AxiomEmotion as Systematic Cognitive Modulator AxiomMeaning as Receiver Construction AxiomBias Blind Spot Asymmetry AxiomConsciousness Requires Global Neural Integration AxiomCognition Operates Through Dual Processing Systems AxiomMental States Are Cognitively Imputable AxiomCognitive and Affective Empathy Are Distinct AxiomAutomatic Pattern Perception AxiomAbstraction Requires Grounding AxiomBasic-Level Category Privilege AxiomConstrual Level Effects on Perception AxiomPiagetian Equilibration Through Schema Dynamics AxiomPeople interpret failure as either evidence about their AxiomYou necessarily trust your own cognitive faculties as a AxiomImplementation intentions (if-then plans) significantly AxiomPsychological flexibility (the ability to adapt behavior to AxiomHuman beings make decisions under conditions of incomplete AxiomSelf-efficacy — belief in one's capacity to execute a AxiomUsing second or third-person self-talk creates psychological AxiomRegulatory flexibility—the ability to shift between

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