https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/have-you-heard-story-ulysses-sirensi-david-perrott
It
is a well-known tale from Greek mythology. Yet, there is a pivotal piece of the
story that most depictions of the tale miss.
One of the
most famous books in Homer's Odyssey is the story of Ulysses & The Sirens.
Upon his
return home from the Trojan war, Ulysses (known also as Odysseus) encounters
the Sirens- Beautiful creatures of the sea, whose singing bewitches sailors and
lures them to their deaths.
Ulysses,
curious, but aware of the deadly nature of the Siren's hypnotising voices,
instructs his men to plug their ears with beeswax and to tie him to the ship's
mast.
He then
orders them to, under no circumstances, follow his command, while passing the
Siren's rocky islands.
As
anticipated, upon approaching the Siren's islands, Ulysses becomes enchanted by
the deadly sea creatures' singing. He commands (and then begs and cries) that
his men to untie him.
With their
ears full of beeswax, the Ulysses' crew members see the Sirens for exactly what
they are - deadly monsters.
With this
clear view of the Sirens and Ulysess' original orders in mind, they ignore the
desperate cries of their captain, rowing the boat to safety.
This story
of Ulysses is often used to demonstrate the limitations of willpower, and why
making smart adjustments to one's physical and social environment can be an
effective approach in resolving self-control challenges.
Ulysses is
depicted as this independent and thoughtful choice architect who, being
self-aware of his willpower limits, anticipates an approaching self-control
failure, and sets up his environment to prevent such failure from occurring.
Unfortunately,
that isn't quite right...
Reading
Homer's tale more closely reveals an important piece of the story, that the
above-mentioned and commonly told depiction doesn't capture:
Ulysses did
not anticipate the Sirens encounter. Nor did he think to plug his men's ears
with beeswax or tie himself to the mast.
According to
Homer's story, it was the Greek Goddess, Circe, who warned Ulysses of the
Sirens and suggested that if he wanted to listen, he would need to order his
crew to plug their ears and bind him to the mast.
Circe even
provides Ulysses with beeswax to plug his men's ears.
Not only is
the inclusion of Circe's role a more accurate representation of Ulysses and his
encounter with the Sirens. I think it is also a better model to have in mind
when trying to resolve our self-control challenges.
In this
tale, Circe represents a supportive ally.
A supportive
ally is someone who has our best interests at heart. Someone who can help us
see ourselves, our blind spots and any approaching tripwires we've missed.
It is also
someone who can help us think through ways to prevent failures and implement
those changes properly.
Life can be
complex and hard.
A supportive
ally or group of allies, that can take on the role of Circe, is one of the best
things you can have with you when architecting your physical and social
context, to meet your goals.
This doesn't
relieve you of any responsibility. Ulysses still had to give his men the
beeswax and command them to bind him to the mask.
You still
need to execute. Allies just improve the chances that you see the challenge
clearly and plan properly.
This is what
I am building with Circles in Time.
A community
of allies from around the world, who can support one another in setting goals
and resolving the self-control challenges that all of us face on a daily basis.
Each of us
playing the role of both Circe and Ulysses, simultaneously.
