Whenever I think about giving in to a momentary desire I try to picture what effect does it have on my middle and long-term goals and my life as a whole. This helps me snap out of it and think whether I actually want to do something or it is just an impulse. I ask myself questions like “Will I do this again in similar circumstances” and “What if it turns into a habit?”. There are times when I feel like cutting corners during my chores or presented with an opportunity to eat an unhealthy snack. My technique allows me to make look beyond the instant cost and reward and consider better options in the long term.
When I feel like not doing something I have planned for the day I consider the reason for not wanting to do it, more precicely, its significance and estimated frequency and assume that, I will make the same choice every time. This gives me a rough idea of the impact of a single decision on a global scale, so that I can actually evaluate it. The reason why I do not just consider every situation individually with a set of principles is that, it becomes increasingly more diffucult to aacount for all the edge cases and exceptions. For example, I may have a rule to not consume any sweets besides ice cream, and that is good enough. However, using the more flexible constitution allows me to consider trying new desserts that are novel enough to provide valuable experience and too rare to have a detrimental impact on my health.
Everything I descirebed could be a process someone does without thinking, but for me being aware of the way I make decisions and influencing it is fascinating.
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