I get a little pain in my knee when I walk down stairs or run long distances. The problem has gotten worse with age but has an easy fix — a short series of strength exercises. If I do them a few times per week, I’m pain-free.
The routine takes only about 15 minutes, and I can do it at home. Even so, I just can’t seem to make it a habit. I tell myself I’ll do it at the end of my workday, but when 5:30 p.m. rolls around, I often find myself unwinding with a run or a beer instead. “I’ll do the damn exercises tomorrow,” I promise myself. But the pattern repeats itself the next day, and often the next, sometimes until my knee starts hurting again.
Greek philosophers have a word for this behavior: akrasia, the state of acting against one’s better judgment.
While akrasia is ...
