I Love WHY (Not What) I Do

I have a secret. I don't always like working out! Shhhh!!!


Heck, there are plenty of times where I'd much rather laze around than to work hard. Don't tell anybody about that either!


So, why do I still teach fitness classes and attend other instructors' classes? Because even though I may not always like working out, I always LOVE why I do it.


You will either love what you do or love why you do it. It's more important to love WHY you do what you do, and if you happen to also love WHAT you do, then that's a big bonus!


You see, one of the reasons we don't always get what we desire is because we don't like doing certain things. Yes, we want to lose weight but HATE exercising and hate eating healthy. Yes, we want to make money to supply our needs but HATE our jobs. Yes, we want a clean house, but HATE the part where we have to clean!


So guess what? If we don't like what we do, we would just don't do it. But guess what happens? We don't get what we desire either!


You know what? In this life, we won't always do what we enjoy. There are times we need to do things that aren't pleasurable, but if you focus on WHY you're doing these activities, then those activities may not seem so bad.


I almost hate lifting weights! I bet you didn't know that! Man, it's almost drudgery to lift a barbel! But why do I do it? To keep my muscles strong and healthy. To look fit. To be an example. And besides, it's not as if I lift weights all day. The actual weight-lifting activity is pretty short, so I think I could bear the pain of lifting weights.


Some of you hate exercising, but think about what would happen if you don't do any exercises: 

• Painful joints
• Stiff back
• Being so weak that you could barely lift grocery bags
• Getting out of breath easily
• Always tired
• Gaining weight
• Aging quickly
• Having several medical problems

Exercising doesn't seem so bad now, does it?


No, you don't like getting up early to go to work at a soul-sucking job. But think about:

• Not being able to pay your bills
• Not having enough food to eat
• Not being able to service your car
• Being unable to go on road trips
• Getting on public assistance
• Cutting back on fun activities

Your job doesn't seem so bad now, does it?


In order to bear the activities that you don't enjoy, you need to intensify your love for WHY you do them. Don't force yourself to like what you do. Just focus on WHY you're doing it.


Now, this doesn't mean that you need to stay where you are. If you hate your job and can't bring yourself to love it, then find another job. But UNTIL you get another job, focus on why you're still doing your current job.


Maybe the exercises that you're doing is dreadful! But until you find something that you do enjoy, then focus on why you're still exercising. Heck, I HATE running! But I made myself run for a while until I've found something that I did enjoy doing.


Maybe you much rather eat cake and ice cream all day. You don't care for carrot sticks and celery! But until you find a better way to enjoy the healthier foods, then focus on WHY you're still eating like a rabbit.


You don't have to spend your life being miserable because of the things you have to do. We need to make money. We need to take care of our bodies. We need to maintain our homes. We need to do plenty of things that are beneficial but not enjoyable. However, if we spend more time thinking about WHY we're doing something, then life won't seem so bad after all.