We Need to Stop Fooling Ourselves

GriffinScat #04-08 1/4/08

What was the last thing you did that you really just didn’t want to do? It may have been getting out of bed this morning, cleaning up some dog scat in your yard or maybe just going to work. Was it a pain? Did you resent having to do it? Do you think tasks like those are inherently enjoyable? I’d like the opportunity to prove to you that not only are they enjoyable, but you’ve already demonstrated more than enough force of will and desire to do everything in life well and enjoy what you do.

We have made a habit of fooling ourselves into thinking that we “must” do things we don’t “want” to do all the time. The reality, however, is much simpler and absolutely liberating. No one ever forces us to do anything we don’t choose to do. I’ll say that again for emphasis – NO ONE ever forces us to perform any action against our will. The concept is illogical. Unless there is some physiological disconnect between the brain and the body, no one can force the body to do things the mind does not tell it to do.

When we do something we think we don’t want to do, what we’re really saying is, “I believe that doing this thing is in my best interest. I wish it weren’t in my best interest to do this, but since it is, I am going to do it.” Well, if it’s in our best interest to do a task or perform some action, then we should recognize that our deep-seated desire is to do that thing. If we desire to do it, then we should do it with all our heart.

We cannot do anything well when we do it with a resentful attitude. When we start a task that we think we’d rather not be doing, we actually demonstrate that we have a very strong desire to accomplish the task because we are struggling against and overcoming the part of our mind that doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. The great irony is that we probably demonstrate as much or more desire in accomplishing something we don’t “want” to do than we show in taking on a task we think we enjoy. When we do what we think we would rather not do, we struggle against our mind to overcome the mental and emotional obstacles we put in our own way.

Why not simply recognize that everything we find ourselves doing is really something we strongly desire to do and engage all our mental and emotional machinery in the same direction? Instead of using our mental energy to construct obstacles in the path of accomplishment, we should use that energy to improve the process to create better and more enjoyable results.

Putting this concept into action and relishing everything that you find on your plate to do could completely change the way you live life, and will certainly put you head and shoulders above those around you who carry their resentment like 500lb. burdens on their backs and minds.

“Fly high & roar loudly”

dirk

Next: A multi-part series on why the U. S. military cannot win the Global War on Terrorism and why understanding that is critical to winning it.

[P. S. If you’ve ever read accounts of our POWs in Vietnam you’ll recognize this concept in action. Those amazing men were wracked with guilt every time they broke under torture – even if they said things that were really of no consequence at all. Through their agony they understood that they had willfully said or done something they regarded as below the standards to which they held themselves. They would have felt no guilt if their wills had been superseded by some external entity that took control of their bodies. Let me hasten to add here that the vast majority of those held by the Vietnamese, men like Jim Stockdale, John McCain, Lance Sijan and others, were and are heroes by any definition of the word. They demonstrated loyalty, dedication and self-sacrifice that were far and above anything that most of us have ever been close to accomplishing. They did not choose their fates, but bore them with valor that reaches anything we have ever read about prior. By the way, if you’ve never heard the name Lance Sijan before, Google him and read his story. You’ll meet a new hero.]