I had a realization today. I’ve been trying to “fix” my problems at the same level of consciousness that created them. These efforts are futile. I keep spinning myself in circles thinking that if I merely rely on my strengths, I can gradually pull my life into a desirable comfort zone and stay there. I want to stake my claim, pitch a tent, and camp out forever wherever my life can be filled with peace and tranquility. Well, life doesn’t seem to cooperate with my goal.

My lazy butt wants to sit around on my couch all day singing to myself and simply bliss out. I don’t want to feed myself, care for myself, or fend for myself let alone do anything for someone else. Life would be perfect if I could simply bliss out and ignore all the bumpy parts. I thought peace was the answer, the solution for my tendency toward sloth. But no. It isn’t. That line of thinking was wishful thinking.

What I actually need is self-control. I need to discipline myself to do the things I don’t want to do. By “discipline,” I don’t mean punishment. The last thing I need to do is to judge or to criticize myself for what I’m not doing well. The definition to which I’m referring here is the act of training myself to obey the rules of conduct that will get me the results for which I’m longing. If I keep sitting around waiting to feel like doing something, I’m not going to make any progress toward my goals. I need to take constructive action.

How do I get myself to take action when I don’t want to do it? For me, I begin by asking myself whether I really want the result for which the action is necessary. After I ask myself whether I want to cook a nutritious meal for myself, (hint: the answer to this question is always a resounding no!), I then ask myself whether I want to have the energy I need to fuel a productive day. Do I want to have a healthy body? Yes. Do I want to be able to go out and play with my friends? Yes. Do I want to be able to help other people to feel better and to live the best version of their lives? Yes. Okay then. The only way I’m going to accomplish these objectives is to cook a nutritious meal, to feed myself some healthy food, and to clean up after myself as well so that I don’t have a linger mess lying around, weighing me down, and distracting me from the other things I want to get done. If I stay focused on the results toward which I’m striving instead of allowing myself to get bogged down by the amount of work it’s going to take to get myself there, I find that I’m much more willing to do the work, to take the actions I need to do in order to get there.

Do I want to take a shower? No. Do I want to not stink around my friends? Yes. Okay then, into the shower I go.