 On the one hand, promises to oneself can seem not just possible but downright useful. When we struggle to commit our wills in the ordinary ways – focusing on attractive aspects, “psyching ourselves up” – we often reach for other devices of commitment (Schelling 1985). A promise to oneself may be just such a device. By saying things like “I promise to cut down on screen time,” we are not saying, “Boy, I’d better cut down,” or “Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if I cut down?” We are moralizing. We are staking our self-respect on a decision in order to get ourselves to carry it out (see Hill, Jr 1991a), or as Rosati (2011, 143–44) puts it, we try to “maintain our self-governance…by putting our authority on the line” – that is, our authority over ourselves, our authority to “effectively determine what we shall do, and to command respect in virtue of that very authority.” It is like vowing “on my honor.” It is a distinctive means of self-motivation.