Do you ever find yourself resisting doing something that you know you need to do? I’m not talking about everyday procrastination: wandering to the refrigerator, talking to a co-worker or reading your favorite news site to delay some non-preferred task. I’m not even talking about those times when you say to yourself, “I don’t want to do that,” but then slump your shoulders, hold your nose and dive in anyway.

I’m talking about those times when you absolutely refuse to do something and your refusal makes you feel like a kid determined not to eat his broccoli, even if it means sitting at the dinner table until he turns 18 and no longer has to comply with his parents’ demands. But in this case, you’re not rebelling against a parent, a boss or any other authority figure. You’re refusing to do what you have told yourself you need to do. In effect, you are rebelling against yourself. I call it “auto-petulance.”

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