Why Do We Not Do Things That Are Good For Our Well-Being?
We can change that and make the breakthrough.
Have you ever wondered why we knew what’s good for us yet we tend to do the opposite of what we intend to achieve?
Have you spent hours after hours watching many motivational videos on YouTube, reading a lot of great self-help books on success yet you still feel lost?
Have you felt inspired about certain ideas for your next Medium article yet you kept on procrastinating to start your draft or hit that “Publish” button?
Honestly, I have.
And St. Paul had the same struggle.
“I don’t understand myself. I want to do what is right, but I do not do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what’s right, I inevitably do what’s wrong.” (Romans 7:15)
So why is it that we think we have the drive, motivation yet we are so reluctant to do what is required for us to move forward and achieve our goals?
James Clear seemed to have the solution.
“Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity.”
I think that speaks truth to me, I think I know what I want, but I don’t really yet know what is it that I truly want.
I think I am destined to do something great, yet I don’t know if I have picked the “right” thing to do.
We all have this paradox or choices that is constantly battling within ourselves.
As time goes by, we let our conditions and cirumcstances take over. And we felt stuck, miserable, and unhappy.
We thought we had figured out the solution, and started trying new routine, and after few weeks, we gave in because we didn’t see the results we desired.
Nowadays, we are constantly bombarded by the media of the overnight success stories. We failed to see the amount of work that succesful people have put in or invested heavily for a long period of time beforehand.
We make comparisons and get discouraged and then we were back to the old routines we were were comofortable of staying in.
We let other people, friends, family members, employers, society decide whats the best for us, and chances are they are not very exciting things we have signed up for.
So what can we do? You may ask.
The simple answer is to get clairty on what is that we want out of life.
To get clear with what we want in life, we have to be open to trying out different things to discover what we truly want and ask ourselves questions carefully to see if it aligns with our values then pursue at it relentlessly.
From the book High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way, Brendon Burchard wrote,
“Clarity is the child of careful thought and mindful experimentation. It comes from asking yourself questions continually and further refining your perspective on life.”
Start gaining clarity for yourself for what you really want to do with your life.
For me, I am still in the process of figuring it out.
But I am going to start with this word — Clarity.
How do we gain more clarity for ourselves?
- Read more books
- Explore and try out different activies
- Ask yourself honest questions
- Find out what your strengths are
- Allow yourself to fail(which stands for First Attempt In Learning)
Do some more diggings and listen to your gut feelings, and you can find the clarity for yourself.
Once you have the clarity, you no longer need to rely on motivation and willpower, because your vision will be so strong that it pulls you into the direction that will lead you to the destination you have chosen.
Remember,
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’ — Henry Ford
Thank you for reading, have a spectacular day! :)
