Do your work -- especially when you don't feel like it
Channel: George Kao
Date: 2017-02-03

I didn't feel like making this video... 

Conditions were sub-optimal -- I was dealing with seasonal allergies; I was at a park I rarely go to, so my dog buddy wasn't familiar with the place; and to top it off, I wasn't totally sure what I was going to say in the video.

Yet, I have a rhythm of content creation I'm dedicated to following, so I made the video anyway. It took 5 takes this time, instead of the typical 1-3 tries, but it ended up ok. May it be beneficial to those who watch it!

A common misunderstanding of "Go with flow" or "Follow your bliss" is:

"Do what feels good in the moment."

It's an unfortunate idea... by doing that, your life becomes more and more unfortunate, as you practice following pleasure instead of purpose. 

Immaturity:
Feel Good ➔ Do Right

If you wait until you feel good and ready, and conditions are optimal, before doing your work, or doing the right thing, you will become a victim in life, always hoping and depending on external circumstances to be perfect before you can act rightly.

Learning to be mature:
Do Right ➔ Feel Good

Instead, flip it around and realize that if you act rightly, you will end up feeling good. This is truly exercising your free will, practicing an "internal locus of motivation", thus becoming stronger in your abilities to do the right thing.

So, instead of "Do what feels good in the moment" I encourage you to "Do the right thing in every moment." It's a practice -- don't be perfectionistic about it! Just keep coming back to this idea and trying it again, and again, and again. You'll become more capable over time.

Here's a nuance that can help:

(Think Good) ➔ (Feel a little better) ➔ Do Right ➔ Feel Good

Whenever it's particularly challenging to do the right thing (i.e. when conditions are particularly poor to doing your work), it will help to use your mind for a minute (or five) to feel a little bit better, then move onto doing the right thing. 

It's about the LANGUAGE you tell yourself ("I appreciate the opportunity to do this work" ... "I love helping this person")

...as well as the IMAGES you see about that activity (visualize yourself enjoying the work or doing it gracefully... or visualize yourself helping that person with love.)
  
Use your mind!  Once you feel just a little bit better, then move onto doing the right thing. Don't take too long, because you know that the truly feeling-good comes *after* you do the right thing.

A couple more guidelines that might help:

PLAN
Visualize what is the right thing
Make it a stretch, but don't kill yourself
Have a rhythm for your work that is productive, yet you believe is doable

PRACTICE
Bring your self-compassion when trying to do the right thing 
The Process more important than Product
You'll never act perfectly (nor will the conditions ever be)...
...but that's perfectly fine!
(I have never made a perfect video... I just keep releasing these, then improve over time.) 

PRAISE:
Praise yourself (if you're agnostic/atheist) or praise God for helping you do the right thing, building more trust in that source of power for the next time you're called to do the right thing.

This practice of DO RIGHT ➔ FEEL GOOD, will allow you to excel in your work, and in your personal life, become an above average human being.

Do the right thing, especially when you don't feel like it.

**

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