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_{Exploring willpower contracts, patterns, and other people}

Happy Thursday and Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for reading Intentional Dollar — where we look at old money ideas through a new perspective.

What’s inside?

• One idea to experiment with

• Two quotes from others

• Three questions to dig deeper

• Four lines of poetry for the point

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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_{One idea to experiment with:}

Willpower Contracts

We make verbal money contracts with ourselves and our families all the time. These aren’t written down, notarized, or formal in any way, but we treat them like promises. “I’m not spending next month.” “We’re paying off the credit card by fall.” “I’m done with impulse buys.”

These are willpower contracts. They rely 100% on our future ability to exert a stronger force of discipline than the formidable force of desire.

And usually, we create these contracts from emotional places:

• reflection after looking at our statements

• shame after overspending

• hope about the future

• motivation after one good month

We get energized by the promise they hold, the possibility of a lower monthly spend, a certain net worth number, a future home, the debt-free timeline. They all point toward a destination we deeply want to reach.

And to get there, we stack these contracts with “do more of this” and “stop doing that.” Spend less, save more. Cut this, start that. Action and inaction woven together into a plan.

However, willpower contracts are inherently fragile.

They rarely survive the first real temptation because nothing underneath them changes. There’s no new system. No accountability. No structure. No meaningful consequence. If we break them, what happens? Nothing. We just end up right back where we already are. Rinse and repeat. When we go to outline the next contract, we add more bells, more exciting points to our persuasive presentation. But we are putting time and energy behind the wrong points of leverage.

It’s not the agreeing to contract that’s the problem. It’s not the shared desire of the outcome that’s the problem. It’s not the lack of discipline that’s the problem.

So what is?

The real problem is that willpower contracts operate in a vacuum. They’re built on intention, not infrastructure. They assume that a future version of us that’s tired, stressed, rushed, tempted, overwhelmed, or upset will still make the same choice we made in a calm, reflective moment.

And that’s where these fail because the future us won’t stand in the same emotional space where the contract was created.

Willpower contracts don’t fail because we’re weak. They fail because the environment never changed, the systems never shifted, and nothing in our daily life supports the decision we wanted to make.

The contract asks us to fight desire. Systems make desire irrelevant.

Think about it this way:

• A willpower contract says, “I won’t overspend next month.”

  A system says, “My spending categories have caps, and my card will decline when I hit them.”

• A willpower contract says, “I’m going to save more.”

  A system says, “I set my auto-transfer for payday so saving happens before I ever see the money.”

We’ve been taught to believe that money success is about personal strength. More discipline. More grit. More trying. But the people who make the biggest money progress aren’t the ones with the most willpower; They’re always the ones who build the best systems.

Willpower is a spark, systems are the logs that keep the fire burning.

_{Two quotes on patterns:}

Patterns keep us stuck in the same paths we’ve walked before. It’s natural and frictionless to trod the beaten path, even if it’s inefficient.

_{Three questions on other people:}

Other people want to feel like they are the most important person in the world. Knowing this is WD-40 for improving relationships.

1. How might I listen more attentively to show that this person has my utmost presence and respect?

2. What relationships am I trying to prove something about myself rather than discover something about the other person?

3. How can I employ questions to express genuine curiosity and interest in this other person? How can I make these questions better?

Which question stuck with you? Questions like these are spotlights for the mind. Reply to this email and let me know which one shined light on a previously dark cave.

_{Four lines of poetry for the point:}

Contact Me:

Content ideas, questions? Reply to this email or reach out to me at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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