You decide that from now on, you’re going to swim every day. But you just can’t get yourself to do it.
Frankl writes the following about choice. “Certainly man has instincts, but these instincts do not have him. We have nothing against instincts, nor against a man’s accepting them. But we hold that such acceptance must also presuppose the possibility of rejection. In other words, there must have been freedom of decision.” (Doctor and the Soul xvii)
However, there’s a difference between deciding to do something and mustering up the power of choice. To decide takes an instant; to choose is a long process. Choosing is a skill, and it requires practice and strategy to master it.
Choice is a skill you exercise every time your inertia or habits cause you to slip, unthinking, into something you don’t want to do.
Each time you exercise your choice to do something important to you, you reinforce the power of choice within you, making it easier to choose it the next time.
The opposite is also true. The more times you give in to your inertia and sit on the couch, the weaker your power of choice will be, and the harder it will be to get up and go swimming.
When you understand that every person in the world has to struggle with something, you stop standing in judgment. My struggle is not the same as yours, but we all have to struggle in one way or another. Knowing this prevents me from being arrogant and looking down on others.
At the same time, your personal struggle is not a reason to despair. It is possible to find strategies that work for you, so that you conquer your inertia and no longer have to struggle over the decision whether to go swimming or not.
Your struggle will simply move to the next challenge, only this time your power of choice will be stronger.