The power of pre-decision
You can decide whether or not you'll exercise when you wake up in the morning, or you can set out your clothes + shoes before you go to bed, making the commitment before you need to. Chances of success go up significantly when the choice is made before the brain has something more compelling (like staying under the warm covers on an unseasonably chilly morning).
My mom used to say, "Decide to decide." This means make the decision way before it's even a question. You make the promise way in advance, focus on the benefit, and use your values of keeping commitments and investing in yourself to outweigh the comfort.
This works in many other life areas. A few examples:
- Deciding on a healthy menu for the week vs trying to find something to eat when you're hungry
- Choosing to start your day with devotional before logging into social media and email, vs immediately responding to notifications when you wake up
- Setting clear moral boundaries for yourself before you're in a situation where you're tempted to compromise
- Booking travel plans ahead of time vs waiting until you have some time off, to see where you feel like going
I'm all for spontaneity, so I'm not suggesting everything has to be planned to its finest detail. But for habits and life choices that matter, forethought and commitment in advance save a lot more energy and make life much happier.
