Don’t Make It a Choice
How to Select the Harder but Better Option
It has been over a year since I bought my dream motorcycle (not the dream motorcycle, but the one I wished to buy as a teenager keeping budget and practicality in mind) and I have not yet clocked respectable miles in the odometer. The main reason being I just find it more convenient to take Uber for my daily commute and it is only a commuter motorcycle designed for inter-city use only.
Yesterday night I was watching a moto-vlogger on YouTube and feeling inspired to take it to a nearby place for a spin, which I have been thinking about for over a month now.
I did not wake up when the alarm went off today, not even to do something else. Part of me was convinced if I wake up late enough, I’ll have to postpone the ride to some other day. Anyway, I woke up at around nine (as opposed to the scheduled six AM), but my rational mind told I can get late in office (because not many people working due to holiday season) and spare an hour for the ride.
Half-inspired, I got ready with my shoes, jacket, and gloves. I was still thinking about the traffic I will have to face, the sunlight, and all the other things I could be doing instead. Suddenly this thought came to my mind:
What if I had to go to that place and the only mode of commute was my motorbike?
I did go for the one hour spin and returned much cheerful, contended, and proud than past few mornings. On the other hand, if I had given up the idea of going after getting ready, I would have felt almost the opposite.
The idea that inspired me to write this post is:
We do know that many important things in our lives are not mandatory (at least in short terms). What if we do not have a choice but to do them at the moment?
What if you had to do a certain amount of physical work every day (going to the gym), assuming that your body needed it as it needs water and food.
What if you had to eat healthy and did not have the option of unhealthy food.
What if you had to meditate every day to feel focused, the same way most of us need coffee.
What if you had to write on Medium every evening after work and watching some sitcom was not an option.
The advancement of humanity has made many activities optional for us, providing us with easier alternatives.
We can take elevators instead of stairs. We can take Uber to commute. We can watch games instead of playing(even computer games now). We can order food instead of cooking. We can chat with people instead of going out and talking to them in person.
But it has not yet made them unnecessary; It has not removed the satisfaction and long term perks those activities with additional efforts provide.
One of the ways to motivate yourself is to turn a blind eye to the easier alternative available and just put the additional work required.
All it takes is the first step on the harder path, even the journey is rewarding enough to make you realize the value of extra effort you are putting.
If you see in the long term, hard work is the only option available if you want to be successful.
If you liked the thoughts, feel free to 👏 to help others find it. And do let me know what you think by responding to this post.
