There is a famous behavioral economist named George Loewenstein. He coined the term hot-cold empathy gap. The hot-cold empathy gap can provide great insight into why we tend to miss our goals.

The hot-cold empathy gap is a bias in our perspective based on our emotional state. We tend to underestimate the influence of emotional drivers on our behavior. We overestimate the influence of intellectual drivers on our behavior.

In other words, we tend to assume our behavior is due to a conscious decision that we make. Often, we do not realize the emotion driving our behavior.

There are some great lessons that we can take from his work to help us in reaching our goals. Let us first expand on the hot and cold analogy.

When we decide to get healthy, we may decide to avoid cheeseburgers. While in a cold state it is easy to set a goal requiring willpower to avoid them. The cold aspect of this decision can be made after we finish eating and are not feeling hungry.

The hot part of this decision is in the moment we enter a burger restaurant when we are hungry. In that instance, we will find it much more difficult to stay committed to that goal. It is harder because we are in the crucial moment when we have to make the decision. The decision is one that is driven by our emotions.

Another example is a popular scene from the TV show Friends. Rachel decides to stop relying on her father’s credit cards and cut them up. If she waited until she was at the checkout counter about to buy a new pair of shoes she would be in a hot state. Instead she chooses to cut them up away from the store (in a colder state).

We tend to make resolutions in a cold state on New Year’s Eve. But then we find it much more difficult to stick with our new plan once it becomes hot.

If we decide to exercise each morning, setting the goal is easy. But it is hard to do when we wake up, exhausted, and have to start running. We set the goal in a cold state but have to do it in a hot state.

Or we decide to quit smoking when we don't have any cravings. But then we find that when the withdrawal kicks in it is much more difficult than we imagined.

Here are three lessons that we can learn from the research of George Loewenstein and his research on hot and cold states. Whatever goal we are striving to achieve, we have to be aware of this difference in perspective based on whether we are in a hot state or a cold state.

1. Set Goals in a Cold State but Address the Hot State and How You Will Overcome that Situation

First, when you decide to set goals you will likely find yourself in a cold state. That doesn’t mean that you will remain there so plan ahead. Make sure you have a plan in place for those hot moments when it is extremely difficult to stick with it.

If you are exercising in the mornings (hot state) make sure you get everything ready the night before (cold state). If you are avoiding junk food, make sure you have healthy alternatives. If you are starting to budget your money, create the budget and only take the cash that you intend to use with you to avoid over-buying.

Don’t expect willpower to kick in when you need it. Instead plan ahead. Find ways to limit the reliance on willpower to succeed by planning out these moments.

2. Find Ways to Avoid the Hot State - 99% is more Difficult than 100%

I remember watching a TV show about a man who was trying to remain committed to his wife. He was overconfident that he could remain faithful but kept putting himself in horrible situations. He would go out drinking with some coworkers and by the end of the evening be in an extremely hot state. It would be difficult to make the right choice. In the end he realized that the choice needed to be made earlier. This avoided the situation entirely, rather than trying to wait until it was hardest to make the right choice.

Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t advise recovering alcoholics to go into bars to smell the alcohol. They recommend avoiding the bar all together. With every step closer to taking a drink they are moving from a cold state to a hot state. The best way to remain sober is to avoid the situations where they will be in a hot state.

Jack Canfield talks about this in The Success Principles. He explains that being 100% committed is easier than being 99% committed because you leave no room for a change in perspective when you are in a hot state. 100% commitment means avoiding the tough situations when possible and not moving closer and closer to slipping.

3. Use a Long-Term Perspective in a Cold State and a Short-Term Perspective in a Hot State

When you are setting goals, you want to think about the long-term success. But when you are in a hot state the long-term outcome becomes less and less important. Our emotions tend to drive us towards immediate gratification. That means we have to address those states with a short-term mindset.

One example that I have used is to think about those hot moments as temporary. Instead of saying that you will quit smoking forever while you are craving a cigarette, tell yourself that you only have to avoid smoking this time. It will make it much easier to stick with it.

Trying to quit forever when you are craving a cigarette is almost impossible. But if you commit to avoiding this one cigarette, then you will make it easier on yourself. Over time you will start to build up momentum. Then you will think you don’t want this time to be the one that knocks you back to smoking. In effect, you create a new habit of avoiding each cigarette.

When I was younger, I didn’t keep a lot of groceries in the house. I didn’t like going to the grocery store and would only go when I had to. This meant that when I was hungry, I didn’t have many options. What I realized was that I would tend to go to a fast food restaurant in this situation. Because I was hungry, I would be in a hot state and make the worst decision.

Once I had plenty of healthy items in the house, it was actually easier to make a quick sandwich than to get in my car and drive to a fast food restaurant. The easiest, short-term fix actually became eating healthy.

Regardless of what goal you are trying to achieve make sure you prepare for the hot states. If you plan ahead, you will be able to overcome the obstacles and reach your desired goal.

Make sure to set goals in a cold state but plan for the hot states. Find ways to avoid the hot states whenever possible. Use the long-term strategy when developing goals but rely on a short-term mindset when in a hot state.

Doing this will help you get around the hot-cold empathy gap to reach your goals. In time, the hot states will become less extreme. It will be easier and easier to set goals and reach them. You will understand what to watch out for and how to overcome those difficult moments.