Ice cream doesn't stand a chance against me - I have been known to polish off entire two-litre tubs in one sitting. In my resolve to eat less of the sweet treat, I find the battle is usually won or lost long before I dip my spoon in the tub. It takes place in the supermarket, when I decide whether to put the tub in my trolley.
I find it quite easy to resist buying the ice cream, really. But once in my freezer, it's hard to overcome the temptation to have a nice big bowl of it after dinner almost every night. I think this holds true for many healthy and life-giving decisions in my life - the key battle is often fought before the final decision.
With exercise, I find the best way to make sure I keep fit is not to make lots of resolutions about running, but to make a deliberate strategic early decision - that is, to sign up for a race. Once I've done so, I suddenly have plenty of motivation to go running much more often.
What about work? As a writer, my main problems are distractions that take me away from my core task of working on a book or an article. And my greatest distraction is checking my e-mail, both on the computer and on my mobile phone. I know full well from experience that if I try to resist on my own willpower, I often fail. Just as I am about to start doing some serious writing, I decide to have a "quick check", and this often turns into an epic e-mailing marathon.