Contents
This feature grew out of user feedback: a reasonable plan is not always a plan you feel willing to follow.
The problem
Some steps look like templates. You may already expect a sleep plan to say “put the phone away” or “get up and read if you cannot sleep.” But if your goal is to sleep, being told to read can feel like the opposite of what you need.
Even a useful suggestion can be hard to act on when your first response is “Why would that help?”
Why an explanation can change the experience
Making the action understandable
The Chinese article frames the brain as trying to predict what will happen and avoid wasting effort. A counterintuitive action with an uncertain payoff can therefore meet resistance before you have tried it.
For example, leaving a warm bed can sound like an unhelpful way to address difficulty sleeping. Understanding the rationale behind stimulus control in CBT-I gives that action a purpose: changing an unhelpful association between bed and wakefulness.
Choosing rather than merely obeying
Self-determination theory emphasizes autonomy. “Do this because I said so” can feel controlling; understanding why gives you a reason to choose the action yourself.
The useful shift is from “What am I being told to do?” to “Why would I decide to do this?”
Seeing what the effort is for
An uncomfortable action feels different when its purpose is clear. Understanding the mechanism also gives you a way to judge an attempt without assuming that one imperfect result makes the whole approach pointless.
This is the same interest in meaning discussed in Feedback and Positive Reinforcement (Chinese).
Explain in PlanCoach
Previously, coaches could propose steps without getting a chance to answer your objections. Explain opens that conversation. I find it helpful even when I think I already know the reasoning; another angle can reveal something I missed.
How to use it
Watch the demonstration on Xiaohongshu (Chinese)
- From the coach: while following a plan, tap the coach’s portrait and choose Explain.
- From a step: long-press the step you want to understand and choose Explain.
Tips
- Tap the coach’s portrait and open History to revisit previous explanations.
- You can ask about a step more than once. The coach tries to offer another angle rather than repeating the same explanation.
- Try it with a specialist such as Chang’e, the communication coach or the cooking coach, where a step’s purpose may matter as much as its wording.
If this explanation of Explain makes you more willing to try it, that is exactly the point. Let me know in the comments; knowing the article helped gives me a reason to keep writing.