Do these sound familiar:

I just don’t feel like exercising today.

I’ll start eating healthy next week.

I need more motivation.

Thoughts like these occur to all of us at some point. We want to make progress toward our health goals, but we need a little more oomph to get going. We’re waiting for motivation to strike.

But after years in medical practice, I’ve learned something about how emotions affect decision-making — and it isn’t as straightforward as we think. In fact, relying on emotions as a starting point can actually sabotage your health goals.

Today I suggest a new framework, one that approaches emotions and decision-making differently. This shift helps us successfully adopt lifestyle changes — from starting exercise programs to improving nutrition — and keep them for the long term.

Let’s talk about how it works.

Emotions and Decision-Making: A Realistic Framework

When we’re looking to change our behaviors and lifestyle, we need to understand the true relationship between our thoughts, actions, and emotions. The model we often follow, either by default or training, is this:

Thought → Emotion → Action

In this model, we wait for our thought to produce an emotion, and rely on that emotion to produce action. But I’ve found an alternative arrangement to be far more effective:

Thought → Action → Emotion

In this model, our thought provides the directive, and we simply follow through regardless of emotion. Here’s a further breakdown:

Thought. We start with a thought, which is a conscious decision to do something that’s in our best interest.

Action. Instead of waiting for emotion to follow, we instead take a discernible and measurable action regardless of emotion. We’re either going to do something or we’re not, and emotion doesn’t get a say.

Emotion. Once we actually do what we’ve thought about, our emotion has no choice but to change. We feel happy, comfortable, rewarded. The action causes the emotion, not the other way around.

Emotion feeds thought and further action. This creates a positive loop that perpetuates the process. It’s a reinforcing cycle where each element strengthens the others.

Why Emotions and Decision-Making Don’t Mix Well

Emotions are volatile and can stem from sources that may not have our best interests at heart — think marketing, what others are doing, or any influence that isn’t necessarily positive. If we rely on our emotions to stimulate change, that change may either never happen or may even be negative.

Far more than our emotions, however, our thoughts can reliably lead us to positive action. We think through what we want or need and simply take action based on a considered decision.

For example, maybe we recognize that we need more exercise. But during the day, we feel tired and unmotivated. We say to ourselves, “I don’t have any energy; I’m just going to go take a nap.” That emotion — which is partly physical, partly emotional — leads us to nap instead of exercise. We reinforce a negative pattern of thinking while missing the opportunity to follow through on our thought.

Alternatively, the thought process might go this way: “It’s the end of the day and I’m tired. But I know the best thing to do is move my body.” Then we act on that knowledge without giving emotion a say. When we move our body, exercise, and increase circulation, all of a sudden we have more energy. That positive reinforcement means the next time we’re feeling tired, we’re far more likely to take a walk versus take a nap.

The Power of Goal-Setting in Health Decisions

When we have specific goals we’re looking to accomplish, we have multiple options for accomplishing them. Emotions are one option, but they’re unreliable and can lead us down many paths of action — sometimes the right path, sometimes not.

What reliably controls the path we take is our thought. And our thought comes from our goal.

We all need goals in life. Goals give direction to action and moral context to thought. If you don’t have goals yet, don’t worry. Just set aside a little time to consider what you want and why you want it. That’s the essence of goal-setting.

By identifying your goals, your thoughts and decisions will become goal-oriented, and they’ll drive goal-oriented action.

If an action is consistent with your goal-oriented thought, it drives positive, reinforcing emotions and moves you toward that goal. If an action counters your goal-oriented thought, however, the emotions become negative and self-defeating.

Real-World Application: Starting an Exercise Program

Let me walk you through how this framework applies to one of the most common health goals I discuss with patients: starting an exercise program.

When I talk to patients about starting an exercise program and, most importantly, succeeding in one, I try to find out about their past objections or hurdles to success. For example, maybe they can’t fit in a Pilates class, but they can take a long walk or bike ride in their neighborhood. That’s an excellent starting point.

I also find that unless people allot a specific time of day toward exercise in their schedule, it usually doesn’t work. Everyone needs to find out for themselves what time of day works best for them and how exercise best fits into their established pattern of life.

Here’s my personal experience:

Thought: Many people find getting up early in the morning is an ideal time to exercise, but when I tried that in the past, it made me tired for the day and was counterproductive. So, I needed a different time of day. At the end of my workday, I felt very tired and was quite ineffective for about an hour. I decided on that time to do my exercise.

Action: Each day before I got home, I started to exercise even though I was tired. I found that the exercise gave me more energy. Then when I got home, I was more effective and able to participate in family activities.

Emotion: I enjoyed the energy benefits exercise gave me, which further motivated me and fueled my thoughts of exercise before getting home from work.

When exercise leads to tangible abilities we didn’t have before — something as simple as opening a jar, running after our children, competing in a sport we enjoy — those bits of reinforcement result in an emotion that lets us know we’re on the right path.

Handling Inevitable Challenges

When we begin any new habit, especially as it relates to exercise, we’re going to experience the aches and pains of muscles we’ve never used before. It’s important to understand the difference between good pain and bad pain.

“Bad pain” indicates an injury; it’s often sharp or severe and offers no benefit. Bad pain necessitates rest, recovery, and perhaps a trip to the doctor.

“Good pain” is a sign that we’re building muscles, which requires increased hydration and rest between exercise sessions. Especially at the beginning, we shouldn’t exercise every single day. Eventually, we can work up to exercising five days of the week, with two days of rest sprinkled in.

The Chemistry of Success

When we’re in shape, we produce endorphins that literally change our chemistry and, thus, our emotions. This helps perpetuate our newly developed habit.

Remember the law of inertia: Things in motion stay in motion. With the exception of having a week or two off for vacation, we should continue our exercise routine. Even when we’re on vacation, we should be walking and active. We don’t need to adhere dogmatically to the exact routine we’ve established, but we need to be doing something.

Understanding How Emotions Affect Decision-Making: Final Thoughts

By understanding how emotions affect decision-making — that emotions follow thoughtful action rather than precede it — we can create lasting change in our health and lives.

When emotions are good, they support everything in a positive direction. When they’re negative, they can derail our progress.

The key is to start with intentional thinking, move immediately to action, and then allow the resulting positive emotions to strengthen your commitment to your goal. This framework works whether you’re starting an exercise program, changing your nutrition habits, or making any other positive lifestyle change.

You don’t have to wait for motivation to strike. You can begin any endeavor today, with a single conscious thought followed by one purposeful action.