The Public Oath

A merchant wanted to stop drinking. He had tried private promises and failed every time. Willpower in the evening was weaker than resolve in the morning.

So he made a public oath in the town square: “If anyone sees me drink, I will pay them ten gold coins.”

Now every tavern keeper watched him. Every neighbor monitored him. The cost of a drink was no longer a hangover — it was ten gold coins and public shame.

He didn’t become more virtuous. He changed the cost structure so that his future weak self could not afford to give in. The commitment was designed to bind the version of himself he couldn’t trust.