Choose Your Adventure

5:15 a.m. Beep beep be-beep. Your alarm goes off. You've planned an early morning workout, but the last thing you want to do is get out of your cozy bed, must less have to push yourself physically into a sweat. And you fall back asleep. Sound familiar? 

I've been a morning exerciser for a few years now due to a work, and then class, schedule that kept me busy during the day. While my energy at 5 a.m. is never sky high (I only get to claim 'I bounded out of bed!' a few times a year), I usually have even less motivation to go to the gym in the afternoon after class. 

One trick that has been extremely successful for me is visualization. When I am snuggled under the covers early on a frosted winter morning, I picture myself taking two paths, much like those "choose your adventure" books of my childhood. 

Do you want to:

A: Stay in bed, sleep 45 more minutes (because you never buy as much time as you think you do), come home from a long day of classes and put on your workout clothes at 6 p.m., travel to the gym, and have a late dinner. Turn to page 22.

B: Get up now, drive to the gym and sweat; enjoy breakfast with a post-workout glow, and spend the afternoon reading a book. Turn to page 26. 

As much as I don't want to get out of bed at the moment, option B sure sounds more appealing. So I'd get up and go, and 99% of the time I'd be so glad I did. 

A quote I remember from my high school days comes to mind: "The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."

The visualization trick works with eating too. If you're considering having dessert at a party, picture how you'd feel both mentally and physically if you did and didn't have that slice of cake. Sometimes thinking about how happy you'll be the next morning if you politely decline is all it takes to motivate you to pass. But if you know you'll enjoy that slice 100% and it's worth it to you, then you can fully enjoy every bite knowing you made the best decision. 

The next time you are making a decision, do a little visualization and think about what you what most. Picture yourself taking both paths: the one where you ordered another round of drinks and the one where you didn't, and really visualize the outcomes. So long as you've considered both options, choose the one that will make you happier.