A precommitment device is a strategy for forcing yourself to do something you think you should do but you don’t actually want to do. You might resort to a precommitment device if your will power and self-control have failed to do the trick. The most famous example of someone using a precommitment device is Odysseus having himself tied to the mast of his ship to avoid the temptation of the sirens.
The most common precommitment devices involve agreeing to forfeit a certain sum of money if you fail to achieve a goal or accomplish a particular task. You could make an agreement with yourself to donate money to a charity if you fail to attend the gym three times a week, lose a specific amount of weight, or complete the next chapter of your book. Of course, if you’re the only one who knows about this agreement, you can easily waffle and wiggle your way out of it.
A more binding agreement would be to agree to pay a friend that same amount of money if you fail to meet your goal. Not only would you lose money, you would also experience some degree of shame. That’s the premise behind precommitment devices: we will do what’s good for us in order to avoid the threat of negative consequences. That’s also what makes them problematic.
Underlying the popularity of precommitment devices is the assumption that we are, in general, rational beings who want to avoid negative consequences. But there’s not a lot of evidence support that idea, and if it were true, we wouldn’t need precommitment devices to begin with. Rational beings who were aware of potential negative consequences would all be healthy, law-abiding, diligent, honest, tidy, sober, rule-following good citizens. Obviously, we are not all that. Precommitment devices have something in common with affirmations, which is that the people they work for probably need them the least.
Loss aversion is one rationale offered for using precommitment devices. It’s true we are programmed to avoid losses, but a loss of enjoyment can be experienced as a loss, too. In some cases a more significant loss than the loss of a few bucks.
Another problem with precommitment devices is that they are black and white. Either you do it or you don’t. You win or you lose. You avoid temptation or you give in to it. This isn’t a scenario that allows for being present, noticing what’s actually happening, learning something about yourself or what you’re attempting to do, or adjusting your course. This is more about getting the upper hand over your recalcitrant, weak-willed self. And when the next such situation arises, you will have to do battle with that bad boy self all over again.
There’s Another Way to Make a Precommitment
Creating an intention is a form of precommitment, too, but one without the threat of negative consequences. Creating an intention also takes into consideration the fact that what you’re attempting is not easy, but without judging your supposed lack of self-control. Changing any behavior is difficult simply because we’re wired to keep doing whatever we have been doing. Creating an intention—as part of the I.A.P. process—allows you to focus on something you want to do or be as opposed to something you don’t want to do or be. It helps you keep your attention on your desired outcome and motivates you to keep going, one step at a time, even when the going is difficult. Instead of having to be good or pay the price for being bad, you aim to keep getting better. You don’t have to initiate or engage in an inner struggle with yourself. And instead of forking over cash when you fail, you get to reward yourself when you succeed.
Have you ever used a precommitment device? If so, how did it work for you?
This spring, I sort of used a precommitment device, but it wasn’t because I didn’t want to perform the new behavior….I wanted to….but I was afraid I wouldn’t fit it in because I would deem other things more important.
I wanted to learn to play the harmonica. It sort of fit a long-term writing idea I have, but it was more just for fun. I wanted to practice every day. Regular practice is much better because one 2 hr session per week will not build up my mount.
I set up a precommitment where I received an email every day reminding me to play the harmonica, and reiterating my promise to donate $50 to an organization I hate is I did not play.To meet the daily commitment, I just had to play. It could be 30 seconds if I was busy and that was all the time I had (let’s not discuss whether I had more time or not).
This worked great for about six weeks. Then I reached a period when for 4 consecutive days I picked up the harmonica and played one short sone, the bare minimum. I realized that for whatever reason I didn’t really want to plat the harmonica, and I felt it was stupid to force myself to practice, so I gave it up.
So in summary, the precommitment worked when I wanted to play but needed a reminder, but not at all when I didn’t want to play.
Now about this intention thing 🙂
Don, thanks for sharing this. The daily email reminder would probably have been sufficient when you wanted to play. I’ll bet you wouldn’t have needed the threat.
Just for purposes of comparison, the way to approach something like this with I.A.P. would be to first create an intention as to how much practice you are committed to doing–and when you will do it. (We get very specific.) Then you find a way to keep your attention focused on it, as you did with your daily email reminder. Next you assume that something will get in the way at some point and in order to avoid the “ah, screw its” (as someone once referred to it), you determine ahead of time how you will handle that so you resume following through on your intention. Lastly, you would identify a way to reward yourself when you do follow through and the reward engages your brain in the process by making the whole thing a pleasurable experience.
Intentions aren’t ironclad. Just as in your situation, we sometimes discover that the original intention either needs to be tweaked or isn’t something we’re actually committed to.
So have you given up on the harmonica?
Joycelyn
I have given up on the harmonica…temporarily 🙂
I am trying to get myself journalling again, and have started a 30 day journaling project. I am not keeping up very well. Maybe I need to try setting an intention, them I can work on the harmonica 🙂