Yes, this is pretty much it. Thinking about the choice in this way made it easier to change the behavior and stick with it, since I expect future me will be about as lax as present me is about to choose to be. It's a helpful reframing to make the choice stick.
This is the public group instrumental rationality diary for the week of July 23rd. It's a place to record and chat about it if you have done, or are actively doing, things like:
Or anything else interesting which you want to share, so that other people can think about it, and perhaps be inspired to take action themselves. Try to include enough details so that everyone can use each other's experiences to learn about what tends to work out, and what doesn't tend to work out.
Thanks to everyone who contributes!
Last week's diary; archive of prior diaries.