Sorry for upturning the dictum but I have found this to be true in many cases. If you are unable to practice something you should, if you start telling everyone around you how important it is, it often goads you to do the same yourself!

This works, trust me!

Ever since I stopped swimming due to the infamous Porphyria Cutanea Tarda, I have been bad at exercising. I started walking close to home every day but ended up stopping that as well. There would be some reason or the other. No time. Have a cough. Need to rush to work. Did not dialyze yesterday, so have extra fluid in my body, so cannot exercise. I would use a new excuse everyday to not exercise and all of them worked!

Then yesterday I met a friend over dinner. The topic of discussion moved to exercise and eating habits. I started lecturing him on the importance of exercise, about how thirty minutes every day could save him from heart disease. A little into the conversation it struck me. Was I exercising? Oops!

This morning when I woke up, I had all the excuses ready. I had a sore throat. I had to rush to work. I did not dialyze yesterday. But I made a firm decision. No matter what, I was going to do something today. I went for a walk despite all the odds. At the end of it, I felt really good and decided to continue this no matter what!

... http://www.kamaldshah.com/2012/03/if-you-can-practice-preach.html