Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Modern living has become an obligation for many people. From the start of the day, until the end of the day, we seem to be stringing one “must-do” after the next. Many times, our daily agendas are set by the needs and demands of other people or organizations that we work for. Sometimes our actions are done out of obligation for our health. If your cholesterol is too high, you’ll feel obligated to cut out fatty foods. Sometimes our obligations are for loved ones. If your family needs to be fed, you’ll feel obligated to prepare dinner. Sometimes it’s work related. If your email inbox has 56 unread messages, your agenda is set. Each email contains individual requests – tasks that require varied and time-consuming responses. Most of life has become that way for many – your time is spent doing things at the behest of others. Too many people have no time to chose what they’d like to do.
If you feel like your life contains no freedom of choice to do what you like, and there is no change in sight, then why not just flip the paradigm? If your life’s circumstance precludes a choice to do whatever you’d like, then chose to love it anyway. What good does hating it do for you? The feeling of obligation arises because you have chosen to make a particular task into an enemy. It’s time to choose to clean up your attitude and reactions to life. When life gets demanding, oftentimes the only choice we have is to cooperate. Turn obligations into friends today, and at least look forward to improving your attitude. Befriending what you have to do today is really the best choice. There is great joy in making the choice to cooperate, rather than allowing yourself to be bitter about your “obligations.”