Was it worth it?

Now that it’s over, you can evaluate. This will help decide if you’ll do it again (and again).

It’s good stuff and bad, easy and hard, but after you do anything, you think back to whether it was worth it or not. This is what helps build habits–for better or worse.

Let’s take a few real-life examples.

• Yesterday you ran two miles and today you’re sore.
• Last night you ate wings and fries and drank beer and today you feel like a sloth.
• Your meditation in the morning seemed to ever so slightly open a crack into something new.
• That second cocktail for the last round has put a fog around your morning.
• You’re trying and trying to lose weight and it’s just not coming off.

Part of the decision making process is going to be how much you want the outcome. If you’re trying to lose weight and what you’re doing isn’t seemingly working yet, you’re going to keep going if you believe that it will be worth it at some point in the future.

The Trade Off

You can build a quick list of Pros and Cons for actions that are difficult for you. For example, I did have wings and chips and beer last night. Let’s analyze.

Pros

1. It was the last night out with friends.
2. We always get wings and beer. It’s tradition.
3. The first few tasted good.
4. It was a fun night out.

Cons

1. We always get wings and beer. Maybe it’s time for a change.
2. I feel like a blob, a sloth, a polar bear (in hibernation).
3. Most of the wings didn’t taste that good, but I kept going.
4. I should/could have shared a plate of the chips, but no, I ate all of mine.
5. I didn’t sleep well.
6. I had nightmares (I get this when I eat meat in the evening).
7. I think I gained two pounds in one sitting.
8. I regret eating so much and feel pretty bad about it.
9. It makes me not want to go out with those friends again (which is a terrible feeling because I really like the guys).
10. My self control is apparently out of control.

OK, that’s enough! It doesn’t take a math major to count the pros versus the cons.

What if we made this list for every action that we think we might regret? But could also do the same for the action that we just don’t want to do but would be good for us (like the running two miles)?

I’m a firm believer in analyzing actions by writing them out (duh) and this helps me “build my case” for the next time it comes around.