Things I Force Myself to Do

As parents, there are many things we do that we do not want to do. (Examples: make approximately 17 million peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, wrestle on a hardwood floor, say things like "please stop licking the grocery cart.") The motivations for doing those things are sometimes selfish, and sometimes selfless.

I've been taking inventory of the things I've been doing even when I don't want to, because I know in the long run, I really do. Parenting, and adulting in general, can be complicated. There is a very appropriate Bible verse that I feel correctly represents what many of us feel when we give in to what we think we want only to find out, we don't:
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15

Things I force myself do, because I know I should, and I want to, just not usually at the time...:
1. Wake up with my alarm. Parenting gives me a daily run for my money. The alarm clock goes off and the lure of more sleep is as tempting as the midnight (okay, 9 p.m.) snack was the night before. Unlike the snack, I don't usually give in. The main reason? I've had too much experience being forced into the day by the cries of my children, and it is the wrong head space for the start of my day. I feel exponentially better when I wake up well before my kids and have had  two cups of coffee.

2. Exercise. We all know it. We've all heard it. Exercise makes you feel better, right? Totally! But it's really hard to use that as motivation when the only time you have cuts into precious sleep. Makes you feel better? Who says? Sleep makes me feel better. That is a more accurate representation of my 5 a.m. thoughts. Nonetheless, I force myself to do it because I've experienced the way it makes me feel better, and perhaps more importantly, how not doing it makes me feel worse.

3. Pray. Another habit I've acquired because I've seen my life not doing it, and frankly, prayer makes me better. Having a sense of connection to the greater scale of life on a regular basis keeps my day in perspective. Remembering that I'm not in this crazy life alone or without purpose helps me keep things balanced.

Things I'm learning to force myself to do, because I know I should, and I want to, just not usually at the time...:

1. Take my kids outside. It is October and I have already worn a fleece blanket around as a dress over my jeans and hoodie. I don't love the cold. But I've been through enough winters to know that this is not yet the cold to come, and I should take advantage of any day the sun chooses to shine in State College, PA. In fact, even without the sun shining, I'm forcing myself to get outside with my kids. They do better, I do better, and the fresh air brings a refreshing new perspective on the day.

2. Meal plan and cook. Ugh. Meal planning. I don't know if it's worse than actually cooking the meals or not, but it's a pretty close race for me. I totally don't mind cooking when I have the time to do so. But let's face it, uninterrupted time to whip together dinner is a rarity, and I usually end up sacrificing the cleanliness of every other room in my house to do so. It pays off, but it's hard! I'm still learning how to make this one feel easier.

3. Things I love. I think there is a  misconception that we should always want to do the things we love to do. We are human, and sometimes motivation and energy just run low. That said, my days are exponentially better when I force myself to run, read, and/or write. Those things are different for everyone, but for me, a day that incorporates all those things, is a day well spent and leaves me feeling content and energized.

"Force" sounds like I'm abusing myself into doing things I never want to do, but that's not at all what I mean. The fact is that I nearly always want to do the things I listed above, but even knowing that, sometimes it's just really hard. I don't always want to do them. I don't always feel like it's worth it.

I do feel like I've finally discovered a gigantic piece of the adult puzzle that I'm wiggling into place. Parenting and adulthood have everything to do with your ability to think beyond the difficulty of the moment and into the reward of the future. As I learn to do it, I can continue improving my day-to-day life by incorporating things with short-term and long-term rewards.

This blog post brought to you by me forcing myself to write instead of nap.