We've all been brainwashed! We were all taught the work ethic!
"Work (and suffer) till you die, or if you're lucky retire. We don't
have time to waste on frivolities. We have to be serious, work hard,
rise in our career, make lots of money, and make earning money and
advancing in our career a priority."
I wish to change that
programming in my life. I know that when I do the things I enjoy doing,
things work out better for me. I know that when I do something against
my will, against my heart, it doesn't work out well. I know that
stressing myself out to try to get a job done usually takes twice as
long as taking out and doing that same task at some other time in a
relaxed manner.
We can change the criteria bu which we decide
what to do in our lives. Instead of "Will it bring in lots of money or
advance my career", we need to ask ourselves, "Will I enjoy doing this?
Will this be fun? Am I looking forward to getting started on this?"
If you can't answer "yes" to these questions, then quite possibly this is not the task for you!
If it is something that must be done, i.e. taxes, dishes, etc., the
solution is to find someone else to do them for you. There are some
people who will enjoy and love to do what you prefer not to do. Really!
For example, I am not the world's best housekeeper. I do not really
enjoy cleaning, washing floors, windows, etc. Yet there are some people
who enjoy the meditative aspect of this work and who really get
satisfaction from a job well done. It is to my benefit to pay someone to
do this work so I can take that time earning money doing things that I
enjoy.
We are all
very different and different things appeal to each one of us. Just
because someone else enjoys a particular thing does not mean that you
must. we can trust what I call the "fun index" to assist us in knowing
if a particular action is one for us. We can break away from the rule of
thumb that judges things by whether they bring money or career
advancement. We can change that to making our decisions based on whether
an action will bring us pleasure and personal satisfaction. Does the
work you do leave you feeling proud and pleased with yourself? Are you
following the voice of "should" or the one of "want to?"
Yet, the programming is strong. I find myself struggling over a task and
it ends up dragging itself out. Have you noticed that the things that
you dislike doing are the ones that seem to take forever to get done? As
for the opposite viewpoint, well as the saying goes, "TIME FLIES WHEN
YOU"RE HAVING FUN!"
Learning to go against that old
programming and trusting the "fun index" is an ongoing project. Every
small step is, at the same time, a big leap. Each step will move you
away from dissatisfaction with your life and closer to self-love,
self-acceptance, self-esteem and joy in your everyday existence.
Anytime you ignore that inner prompting, you accumulate self-loathing
and disappointment in your being. Your inner child once again feels
letdown and unimportant. Each letdown reinforce the inner child's belief
that everybody else's wishes are more important than its own. Once
again its desires are relegated to the lowest priority on the list.
Yet, it's your life! Why let someone else dictate how you "should" live
it? Ask yourself what steps you want to take! Listen to the voice
within which will tell you what would really make you feel fulfilled and
satisfied. You are the boss of your life! After all, it's yours, isn't
it?!
BitterSweet26_09
