Do The Things You Hate To Love Yourself Even More

People would always tell me, do what you love.

It’s sound advice, and I get that they only want the best for me — which is being happy and fulfilled in life.

But the truth is, doing things you love makes you weak.

For me, I’m obsessed with Yelp. Every day, I spend a good 30 minutes scrolling through the “hot and new” restaurants that I want to try out — similar to how people on Tinder swipe through a list of candidates, hoping to find the ‘one.’ Any restaurant I bookmark, I end up eating there within that week.

I just love the feeling of being the first to try out brand new restaurants and expand my taste buds (as many of you would too). But then this created a bigger dent in my wallet, a very uncomfortable feeling for someone struggling to make ends meet. And because I had one extra thing to worry about, that meant one less task I couldn’t bring myself to finish at work.

Takeaway: The things you love doing can bring you instant gratification and make life worth living for. But in the long run, it may end up hurting you, especially if you go overboard.
Eating fried foods. Smoking. Online shopping. Drinking booze. Playing computer or video games. Netflix binge-watching. Gambling. Sleeping in.

It’s not until long before we become weak in our ability to control our temptations. The thing is, when we get too comfortable with our lives, we no longer have that fiery drive to be better.

Which is why I honestly respect those who tell others to do things they hate. Because what truly makes us better, smarter, and stronger is simply building discipline — for both our bodies and our mind.

Exercise: You look good. You feel good. There’s less problems you deal with when you become old.
Eat vegetables: Those fibrous goodies you pushed to the side of your bowl, well, that’s the secret to slimming down and living longer.

Go to school: All you need is a college degree that tells companies that you’re worth paying for. Plus, you get the opportunity to meet very smart people, who you never know might become the next Steve Jobs.

Clean: Little would you know, cleaning is a huge stress reliever and can reduce depression. Not to mention, studies show that productivity shoots up when there’s fewer distractions in the room.

Take medicine: It’s not tasty, but the sooner you take it, the sooner you can taste. 😉

Wake up early: One of the habits successful people do, and something you should do too. Because when you wake up early, you train your brain to stay on top of things.

Write: Writing helps clears your mind like how yoga rejuvenates your body. It helps you focus better while talking, working, and thinking.

Argue: If possible, we would avoid any argument. But actually, arguing helps us make better comebacks and expand our logic for reasoning. More importantly, it brings out our real voice.

Work: How else are you going to pay the bills and live your dream if you don’t work?

You might shut your mind to what I’m suggesting here, but let me tell you this. If you always avoid what you hate, you can never get better. And it’s not until long before everyone else transforms into someone you respect (more than yourself).

So do yourself a favor and do the things you’ve always been avoiding that is good for you.

In the beginning, you may feel stupid while learning a new skill or frustrated while sacrificing current pleasure for a future payoff, but when you make the choice to go through the pain early, you get to enjoy the benefit of delight later on.
~James Clear (written on Buffer)

Be persistent. Be patient. Push your limits.

Because once you’ve reached your greatest pain, it becomes your greatest strength. That’s when you’ll realize how much potential you have to be better, and that’s when you’ll look back at your old self and love yourself even more today.