I’m not talking about the most important choice in life - I’m talking about smaller choices that we have to make almost every day: for example, someone regularly wakes up for work, someone can only occasionally “force” themselves to do exercises - the situation is not new : something needs to be done, the head understands it, but the body does something opposite to common sense - plays computer games instead of working, watches movies instead of cooking. How can we change this? The question arises - why do we prefer to hang out at the computer for hours instead of doing something more useful (for the soul and body) with such zeal? What does our choice depend on when we need to choose between a computer game, for example, and some necessary activity (learning English)? The fact is that, upon reflection, we begin to understand that a computer game brings us pleasure, helps us to be in comfort. On the other hand, learning English can bring us (in the long term), for example, the opportunity to be proud of ourselves or career growth or something else (we choose the explanation that is closer to us “in spirit”). Why do we frivolously give preference to immediate benefits? small, but swallowing up huge chunks of time no worse than a hungry alligator, activities? And here the question is what is more important for us at the moment - the pleasure of playing on the computer or pride in ourselves someday later. The main struggle within us occurs because clashes between “now” and “later”, “I want” and “need”, because now, right now we can get (and get) pleasure, joy, comfort, a feeling of satiation with food. But “later” will be “later”... Simply put, I will eat now, and the extra pounds will be acquired “later”, I will sleep now, and they will scold me for being late “later”; I’ll play on the computer now, and do my homework later... That is, on the one hand we strive for pleasure, and on the other (in the case of learning English) - for example, the need to pass a candidate’s exam (career growth). Both the pleasure of a computer game and career growth are called the main criteria. Our behavioral choice in such situations depends on which criterion turns out to be more important and “pull” behavior to our side. For example, when you have to get up in the morning, on the one hand there is an important criterion of “comfort” (or “pleasure”), on the other – “career” (“responsibility”, “interest” or “order”). In the morning you really want to sleep (get pleasure now), that many people don’t care what happens later). Usually the problem occurs when a person has unconscious expectations of pleasure “now” and not “tomorrow”. And the problem in this case is solved by finding a “balance” between “now” " and "tomorrow". We need to solve the dilemma: if we prefer pleasure now, then the consequences of "tomorrow" can be terrible. If you focus exclusively on “tomorrow”, then... when they will still be there tomorrow, these pleasures..)) . What to do? Balance the pleasure of “now” with the pleasure of “tomorrow”. How long can we diet, how quickly do we get up in the morning to get to work; How regularly we exercise (in English) may depend on what the unconscious considers more important for us - “today” or “tomorrow”. To balance these tomorrows and today, we need to “align” the criteria. “Alignment” of criteria helps very well in the situation “I don’t want to, but I do” or “I don’t do what I need.” But it is absolutely useless with such “severe” options as smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. 1. Let’s say you have there is a problem that you want to solve. This problem fits into the framework of “I don’t want to, but I do” or “I don’t do what I need.” - I need to do exercises - I want to sleep longer; - I need to lose weight - I want to eat a piece of cake; - I need to prepare for exams - I’m sitting at the computer in Skype; - I need to clean the apartment, but I’m lazy; etc.2. Now we need to understand what criteria we need to work? In order for this!