Most of us like to do what we ourselves feel like doing—we hate it when someone tells us what to do.
For many of us, doing what we want to do is often easy. We’re adept at playing, sleeping, partying, chatting, and exploring the Web.
Doing what is useful is a bit tougher—working out, following a diet plan, studying, doing immersive writing, performing deep research. . .
Doing what is useful to others is even tougher—teaching someone, helping a new colleague, writing a self-help book, serving a nonprofit, creating an extraordinarily useful invention. . .
This broad sorting of how we perceive work, pleasure, and charity gives us an insight into how our actions—or rather in-actions—are stimulated.
Occasionally, it is okay to do what you want to do. However, doing what seems tough has potential to create more inner happiness than you might actually recognize.
So, next time you feel like “doing what you want to do,” ask yourself:
. . . Do you really want to do what you want to do?
. . . Or would you prefer to do something useful?