What all of these examples have in common is that the former require less activation energy, feel good immediately, and feel crappy later on. The latter require more work up front, feel not so great immediately, and feel wonderful later on.

We’ve already explored that we all have to do things we don’t like, and that others expect of us. I don’t particularly enjoy taking my car to get serviced, or cleaning the toilet, or filing my taxes. In these moments, we might not enjoy the task we’re undertaking – and that can drain our energy. But we can sustain our feel-good productivity by alig

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