Carolyn Hax: How to motivate yourself to do something you dread?

“So instead, admit you don’t want to do the thing because it’s inconvenient and unpleasant, whether cleaning your room or studying for exams or doing your therapy. Don’t BS yourself. But also note that it has to be done. ‘I’m going to do this terribly unpleasant thing and I’m not going to paint a smiley face on it. Maybe I’ll smile after it’s done, because the awfulness is behind me, but right now this sucks, there’s no way around that, and I’m going to get it out of the way.’ So what you’re cultivating is discipline, which is more permanent and carries over to many other things. By acknowledging the unpleasantness of the thing, you realize it won’t be easier/better to do it later, so you start, get momentum and finish it.”