Embrace the God Life

Do you ever do things you hate?
Of course you do. Sometimes we all do.

Life requires us to do things we hate sometimes.

I’ve discovered the secret to doing things I hate, without hating it.
Here’s the secret:
When you hate what you have to do, find motivation in why you have to do it. [tweet this]

I hate getting up early, but I did today so my kids could enjoy a special breakfast program with their mom at school. I did not want to get up early (what I had to do), but I was motivated by why I needed to do it: to provide a good experience for my kids and wife. I love them more than I hate mornings. So I got up early today without hating it.

Discovering why to do something can be all the motivation you need to do the things you hate, without hating it. [tweet this]

You may hate the dentist, but you want to have some teeth left in 40 years. So you go to the dentist.

You may hate the gym, but you want to be healthy and have energy. So you go to the gym.

You may hate performance reviews, but you want to achieve excellence in your field. So you receive the feedback from the performance review.

Discovering why is the secret to doing things you hate. [tweet this]

An Inspiring Example

My wife hates running. She ran one 5K race a few years ago—and hated it. She decided not to run any more races.

My Amazing Wife

Yet, my wife loves her brother. Her brother has been a Leukemia survivor for over 10 years. This year he is the “honored hero” for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team running the Cleveland Marathon.

My wife, who hates running, is running her first 10K this weekend. She loves her brother more than she hates running. She is running in honor of her brother and to raise money to support Leukemia patients and research for a cure.

She found a reason to run that was stronger than her hatred of running.

I’m proud of her. She has been training for a few months and is ready to rock the race this weekend. I think she’s even enjoying it.

Sometimes, doing the things you hate just requires a bit of motivation. Find your why. [tweet this]

What about you?
What do you hate doing?
Might discovering your why help?

It happened two weeks ago. I decided it was finally time to start writing the series on waiting I’ve been pondering for months. So I scribbled down a few ideas and hammered out my first post. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. And that’s a lot.

Who do you listen to?

I was writing again, with a plan to do so seriously and regularly. Visions of meaningful writing danced in my head. I could see a series of humble blog posts paving the way for a good article or even a modest book. Should I self publish or shop for a publisher?

And Here’s where it happened. Having written a modest blog entry it was time to post my work. ARGH! Frustration! My free-but-good-enough blog host had updated its site to be more “user-friendly” and “intuitive.” (I’m making air quotes here.) It took over an hour to get the spacing right on the article. I could no longer adjust the placement of my cool-image-that-catches-the-readers-attention. It was a pain and I was ticked.

This platform simply could not work for me any longer if I was going to attempt to write with any seriousness. But a new website would cost money I didn’t have. And what good is new website since I hardly ever post and hardly anyone ever reads.

Then the voice of the best-me spoke above the frustration, doubt, and negative self-talk: It’s time to turn pro.

In Turning Pro, the great Steven Pressfield* writes that turning pro is a choice: “all you have to do to is change your mind.”

(*You have read The War of Art, right?)

“When we turn pro we stop running from our fears. We turn around and face them.” -Steven Pressfield [tweet this]

Turning pro isn’t primarily about making money from your craft. It’s about approaching your craft with the attitudes, work ethic, and tools of a professional.

It is so easy to make excuses about why you can’t do your best work, why you can’t do what you were born to do, why you can’t answer the call of God on your life to join in the recreation of all things.

When you turn pro you no longer let the excuses, or a bad website platform, get in the way of doing your best work, of making your unique contribution in the world.

Turning pro happens in a moment. Pressfield says you’ll never forget the day you chose to turn pro. I’ve realized it has to happen every day.

Or as Jeff Goins puts it: You are a writer; start acting like one.

Tweet this: Listen to your best-self, and do your best work, every single day.

So, I’ve turned pro, at least for today.

And welcome to the new website.