I know what to do, I just don’t do it.

Most of my clients when coming to me already know what they need to do to make their lives better. In some cases people even come with a particular idea like: “I know I should meditate every day, it makes my head more clear and I feel better” or “When I go to bed early I feel fresh and full of energy the day after” or “When I don’t work till late at night then I have more time for my family and it makes me feel good”.

But if they already know what to do, why don't they do it?

Imagine that Ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle developed a word to describe this type of behavior - Akrasia. It’s described as a lack of self-control. It’s when you do one thing even though you know you should do something else.

But they wouldn’t have been real philosophers if they didn’t create an antonym to Akrasia, which is Enkrateia, meaning power over yourself, power over your own passions and instincts, self-control and self-mastery.

Following the logic of the ancient philosophers we have enough power to take full control over our actions. We just need to understand HOW to do it.
And that’s in my opinion one of the key questions we ask ourselves very rarely when we want to start doing something.
HOW DO I WANT TO DO IT?
- should I book a time slot? So I don't forget it
- should I prepare anything in advance? To make it easier to start
- what obstacles can I have on my way? And how can I prevent them?
- if there are people around me who can support me? So I can increase my chances of doing it.

I personally don’t believe in laziness. I believe there are no lazy people. But there are people who are not well prepared to start doing what they wish to do. Who didn’t organise the process around well enough. And If you feel that you might be one of them, now you have an idea what you can start from to be in power over yourself.