Saturday is sort of my quiet time for reflection. I am at work with not a whole hell of a lot to do. So it is my time to really reflect on the week, month, year, life, I could go on. This morning, something made me think of the episode of “Seinfeld” where George decides he is going to do exactly the opposite of what he wants. Simply put, so much of his life has gone into the crapper based on his decisions. As far as Vegas style odds go, it makes perfect sense. If you don’t like the way your life turned out then start doing the opposite of what you’ve been doing to change it.
We all go against our desires from time to time. The best example is getting up and going to work every day. I doubt most of us WANT to go to work. I’m sure anyone can think of dozens of times each day that they do the opposite of what they want. The best example is eating. I’d personally eat food completely devoid of nutrition if I always went with what I wanted. Sometimes in life, the bigger issues go against what we want. I’d say most of us have loved someone who was wrong for us and as much as we wanted to be with that person, we didn’t let our feelings dictate our actions. Every time I have to replace a car, I want the really nice one with the $400 a month payment. So life is full of these decisions.
Suppose you always went with the opposite of what you wanted to do. I dropped a Biology degree and a full scholarship, because I was lazy at 18 and didn’t want to study hard. What if I had made myself do the opposite of what I wanted? I’d probably be doing a meaningful and fulfilling job and more importantly not tossing half a paycheck every month towards student loans. Honestly the possibilities are endless. You wake up in the morning and want to go back to bed, but instead you go the gym. You want a thick bacon cheeseburger, but instead you have a salad. In some ways self denial might be the first step to health, fulfillment and enlightenment. Instead of allowing outside forces to make us go against what we want (seriously, who WANTS to pay taxes) we should harness this power to improve our lives.
Every day we make little decisions that completely go against what we want. I want to blow off work, get a pack of Marlboros and hit the beach. Instead, I make the decision to be healthy and not smoke and be responsible and go to work. Yet this same self control could really work wonders in our own lives. While we might want the self destructive relationship and the unhealthy food and the lazy way to get through life, we can exhibit the self control to deny ourselves these things. Isn’t that our greatest power as humans? We can acknowledge what we want and still exhibit the self control and rational thought to go against that instinct. Imagine what sweeping global changes could come if we all did the opposite of what we wanted. In the end, the pursuit of more money, food, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, love, possessions and knowledge usually leaves us emptier than when we first set out after these things.
We all go against our desires from time to time. The best example is getting up and going to work every day. I doubt most of us WANT to go to work. I’m sure anyone can think of dozens of times each day that they do the opposite of what they want. The best example is eating. I’d personally eat food completely devoid of nutrition if I always went with what I wanted. Sometimes in life, the bigger issues go against what we want. I’d say most of us have loved someone who was wrong for us and as much as we wanted to be with that person, we didn’t let our feelings dictate our actions. Every time I have to replace a car, I want the really nice one with the $400 a month payment. So life is full of these decisions.
Suppose you always went with the opposite of what you wanted to do. I dropped a Biology degree and a full scholarship, because I was lazy at 18 and didn’t want to study hard. What if I had made myself do the opposite of what I wanted? I’d probably be doing a meaningful and fulfilling job and more importantly not tossing half a paycheck every month towards student loans. Honestly the possibilities are endless. You wake up in the morning and want to go back to bed, but instead you go the gym. You want a thick bacon cheeseburger, but instead you have a salad. In some ways self denial might be the first step to health, fulfillment and enlightenment. Instead of allowing outside forces to make us go against what we want (seriously, who WANTS to pay taxes) we should harness this power to improve our lives.
Every day we make little decisions that completely go against what we want. I want to blow off work, get a pack of Marlboros and hit the beach. Instead, I make the decision to be healthy and not smoke and be responsible and go to work. Yet this same self control could really work wonders in our own lives. While we might want the self destructive relationship and the unhealthy food and the lazy way to get through life, we can exhibit the self control to deny ourselves these things. Isn’t that our greatest power as humans? We can acknowledge what we want and still exhibit the self control and rational thought to go against that instinct. Imagine what sweeping global changes could come if we all did the opposite of what we wanted. In the end, the pursuit of more money, food, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, love, possessions and knowledge usually leaves us emptier than when we first set out after these things.
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