One small step

In the mid-1990s, the psychologist Neil Jacobson at the University of Washington ran a study that surprised his field. He compared full cognitive therapy for depression with just one part of it: helping people gradually do more of the activities that mattered to them.

The activity-only version worked about as well as the whole package. It grew into a therapy called behavioral activation, built on a simple principle: you don't have to wait to feel motivated. Often the action comes first, and the motivation follows.

Knowing what matters is half of it. ACT calls the other half committed action: turning values into steps small enough to take, even with worry along for the ride.

"Be healthier" is a value. "Walk to the store on Tuesday instead of driving" is a step. Research on what psychologists call implementation intentions, plans of the form "when X happens, I'll do Y", finds that saying exactly when and where makes people much more likely to follow through.

Eli used to love playing guitar. It has sat in its case for a year. He keeps telling himself he will get back into it properly once work calms down: an hour every evening, lessons, maybe a band. Work hasn't calmed down, and every week the guitar stays in the case he feels a bit worse about it.