Thanks for sharing.
Yes, self control is an interesting thing. I often notice my own total lack of self control, preferring to sit in a chair watching telly, instead of going to run. But on some occasions I have had enormous will power.
Once I ran a marathon. That was after taking a break from running after a whole year of being uninspired. First I registered for a half marathon half a year in the future. I managed to train 3 times a week, later 4 times and was very motivated to do that. Then I registered for the full marathon and managed to run 8 hours a week on average, because I was terrified of being not well enough trained to reach the finish line. It also helped to tell everybody else that I had planned this, as an extra motivation. During the race I ran on asphalt all the time, which was unexpectedly hard on my legs. So I was in pain already before halfway. My body wanted to quit the remaining time. But I did some serious talking to myself the rest of the race, telling myself how proud I would be if I would finish in my planned time. And eventually I did.
The other time is when I decided I wanted to lose weight, 8 kgs. I managed to motivate myself and had a clear goal. Got some good tool to help counting calories and managed it quite easily.
I also once went to a course where there was an exam at the end. I decided I really wanted to pass that exam. So I bought a book on the subject already before the course and read that. During the course I studied really hard. And passed as one of the few.
But in day-to-day life I cannot always feel the motivation to do something, like now to pick up running again. I have been starting twice the last few month, both away from home in a nice environment. But at home I cannot not climb over the door step. And also when I need to do chores, I so much have the feeling that I deserve to relax in the evening, instead of doing these chores.
As the person in the article says, watching TV costs a lot of time. If you cut that out, you have time to do many things.
Luckily with MMM at least, I have found a new clear goal. Now it is so much easier not to buy lots of stuff. Now my priorities are very clear: save money for retirement. For my heath and training issues, I haven't set any goals this year, and that makes that I cannot get myself started for real. Yes, I know what to do about it, I am just not in the mood.