2. Create immediate rewards for long-term goals.

Whenever you create goals and envision a better future, you’re actually planning for your future self, who values discipline and long term rewards.

But when it comes time to take action, your present self—who values short term gratification—fights with your future self. And more times than not, it wins.

One of the best ways to counter this problem is to make the rewards from your long-term goals immediate.

Example: if you’d like to exercise more regularly, but you also enjoy socializing, you could sign up for gym classes or participate in team sports to immediately benefit from social rewards.