1) Take a detailed look at the pros and cons of what you want to change. This is sometimes sufficient by itself—more than once I have realized I simply get nothing out what I’m doing, and the desire goes away by itself.
2) Find a substitution for those pros.
Alternatively, think about an example of when you decided to do something and then actually did it, and try to port the methods over. Personal example: I recently had a low-grade freakout over deciding to do a particular paperwork process that is famously slow and awful, and brings up many deeply negative feelings for me. Then I was cleaning my dutch oven, and reflected on getting a warranty replacement actually took about three months and several phone calls, which is frustrating but perfectly manageable. This gives me confidence that monitoring a slow administrative process is achievable, and I am more likely to complete it now.
Here is a method I use to good effect:
1) Take a detailed look at the pros and cons of what you want to change. This is sometimes sufficient by itself—more than once I have realized I simply get nothing out what I’m doing, and the desire goes away by itself.
2) Find a substitution for those pros.
Alternatively, think about an example of when you decided to do something and then actually did it, and try to port the methods over. Personal example: I recently had a low-grade freakout over deciding to do a particular paperwork process that is famously slow and awful, and brings up many deeply negative feelings for me. Then I was cleaning my dutch oven, and reflected on getting a warranty replacement actually took about three months and several phone calls, which is frustrating but perfectly manageable. This gives me confidence that monitoring a slow administrative process is achievable, and I am more likely to complete it now.