The Discipline to do the Things We Love

It’s a weird concept but I’ve been thinking about the self discipline we require to do the things we love.

We generally think that we’ll just get on and do the stuff we love doing and that we only need to discipline ourselves to do the things that we don’t like to do but have to anyway.

It takes real discipline and resolve for me to do any gardening and a bunch of other things that aren’t really my thing but what about the things I really enjoy doing? Shouldn’t those things come easy to me?

Perth’s beautiful weather makes my city the perfect place for cycling. It’s one of my favourite pass times yet if I don’t discipline myself to get out there on my bike I’ll miss out on something I love. It’s easy to sleep in on a Saturday morning instead of rising early to ride with my cycling friends but I know that if I put in the effort I’ll get greater benefits from cycling than I would from an extra hour in bed.

Last week during the Perth Royal Show I cycled to and from the show every day. I did over three times the distance on my daily commute. Instead of a 13 km round trip each day I was doing around 44 km each day. Rather than feeling more worn out from the extra effort I felt surprisingly energised.

If I love reading so much why do I need to discipline myself to sit down with a book for an hour? A week or two can often go past without me sitting down to soak in some words from the pages of a good book yet when I make the time to read I can easily get lost among the words and I thoroughly enjoy every moment of it. Sitting down with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other is one of the most satisfying things in the world yet I can waste my time on the trivial things of life rather than reading.

Do you find the same thing happening? Are there things that you really love yet you find you have to discipline yourself to invest your time pursuing them?

I find the same thing with my faith. I’m never happier than when I feel that I’m in tune with the Creator yet I can let time slip through my fingers without making the effort to recharge my spiritual batteries.

It’s somehow strange that we should have to exercise discipline and self-control to do the things that make us feel most alive but sadly it’s true. I guess that’s where priority setting comes into play.

What are you like at doing the things that you love?

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Discipline – Self-Control – Things We Love

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