It’s painful either way, so why delay?

Conscientiousness is boring.

There’s nothing compelling about people who are healthy, organized, disciplined and committed.

Can you imagine watching a network television show about a super disciplined guy who expertly controls, regulates, and directs his impulses?

Tune in next week for a groundbreaking new episode. Kevin will resist doing what feels good now, and instead, do what is less fun but will pay off in the future. Don’t miss it.

Not a single advertiser would buy air time. The ratings would be in the toilet before the first show even aired.

Because conscientiousness, despite the fact that it’s been clinically proven to be a positive trait that increases happiness and longevity, is not something our culture actually values. We claim to admire it, but we certainly don’t require it.

More often we encourage, celebrate and reward toxic traits like drama, antagonism and dysfunction. We live in a world where everyone is competing to become the most interesting person they know. As the old saying in the newspaper industry goes, if it bleeds, it leads.

Sadly, being the arbiter of moral rectitude is rarely welcomed. That’s way too confronting for most people. Try telling your fifty new coworkers on your first day at work that you don’t drink alcohol or coffee. You’ll see how cool healthy people are.

But humor me for a moment. What if conscientiousness was largely depended on behavioral economics? What if there were things people could say to themselves to make discipline, motivation and decision making easier?

Imagine you’re struggling to make progress on a task that is uncomfortable for you. We’ve all been there before. But what most people fail to realize is that the alternatives, including doing nothing, are equally if not more uncomfortable than the current option.

And so, here’s a mantra that’s fun and memorable. It sounds like a nursery rhyme:

It’s going to be painful either way, so why delay?

Maybe that playfulness is the push you need.

Another approach, if you’re more of an analytical person, is to run a split second cost benefit analysis of the challenge before you.

Imagine you are lying in bed, thinking about going for a run, but you’re demotivated by how cold it is outside. We’ve all been there before too. My recommendation is, don’t lose perspective so quickly. Compare that bad feeling of being cold, probably only for the first ten minutes, with the benefits you’ll get from going for the run, which will last for the next ten hours.

Outweigh yourself by trusting that going on a run will cause your thoughts, feelings and energy level to take a different, more productive, healthier path than if you stayed in bed. Maybe that will work for you.

Look, option anxiety is really hard. The paradox of choice affects us all. But in a world where both options require work, the sooner we know which way to go, the better.

Conscientiousness is wonderful because it can help us bridge the intention behavior gap.

If you’re sick of a world that only rewards sickness, see if you can become one of the people who is so happy and healthy, they’re easy to miss.

If it’s going to be painful either way, so why delay?