This morning’s calisthenics involved four sets of burpees. I noticed a funny thought as I started the third set.

I had barely done a tenth of a burpee in that third set when I thought, “Only one set left.”

That’s an odd thought. Since I had barely started the third set, I had closer to two sets left.

Why did I think I had one set left when I actually had closer to two?

Because of an effect nearly all of us have experienced. One version is when you planned to jog or go to the gym but you’re sitting on the couch relaxing. It’s hard to start, but you also know that once you start running, you’re likely to keep running, or once you walk into the gym you’ll do a full workout.

The effect is that it’s harder to change modes than to keep going in your mode.

One consequence in your favor is to teach yourself just to put your jogging shoes on or just walk in the doors of the gym. If you do, you’ll likely finish the run or workout. It’s part of the reason for how I’ve laid out my apartment, with my meditation cushion and kettle bells put in places with easy access. I can’t ignore them so starting to meditate or lift is convenient.

In my experience, while the physical challenge of an exercise, for example burpees or a file-mile run, is in the doing, the mental challenge is in starting. That is, the first 0.1 percent of the exercise may take 99 percent of the mental effort while it may burn 0.1 percent of the calories. Meanwhile the last 99.9 percent of the exercise takes a small fraction of the mental effort but burns 99.9 percent of the calories.

How to use this observation

To do anything challenging, I recommend starting by learning self-awareness and discipline, then acting on your mental resistance. Remember that doing challenging things develops experience, character, insight, and more that lecture and learning based on factual recall and abstract analysis don’t develop self-awareness and other social and emotional skills.

In the short-term, learn “tricks” like just to put your shoes on to prompt running. Those tricks will enable you to start things you value even when you don’t want to. In the long term, change your environment to make behavior you value easier to do.

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