Episode 18: How to Get Yourself to Do What You Want to Do

There’s a popular passage of scripture in Romans where Paul says something along the lines of “I don’t understand myself. I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” I think we can all relate to this passage in some way.

We know what we should do, we know what we want to do, but how do we get ourselves to actually do it. We long for the day when we will find some motivation, we search for the formula that will teach us how to develop self-discipline, we wish we could just develop the confidence we need to do all the amazing things we dream about. What does it take to actually get ourselves to consistently do what we want to do in our daily lives?

This episode talks about Paul’s answer found in Romans 7-8 and also looks at what the research says. We learn about ACT, or acceptance and commitment training, a strategy that we can use to help us accept our thoughts and emotions, choose a value-based next step, and then take mindful action to do what we want to do.

This episode is part one of a four-part series that breaks down the concepts of ACT and how we can use it to get ourselves to do all the things we desire and need to do.