How to enjoy your problems

I've never really enjoyed cleaning, homemaking, any of that sort of stuff. Given that I presently have two kids under three years of age, these days that constitutes about 90% of my life. And I could think that I "have to" pick up Deakin's blocks (again!), or that I "have to" change yet another nappy.

Instead, I'm careful to remind myself that I "get to" do those things. Deakin's not even three, he's going to make a mess with his blocks, or his cars, or his books, or something... and I get to clean up after him. If I didn't, I also wouldn't get to laugh with him, teach him things, learn from him, and bask in all the brilliance he brings. So I get to do all the otherwise menial stuff. It's a privilege.

So (to make up a scenario) you might be upset that you "have to" promote your book. Perhaps you prefer writing books to promoting them. If you can instead realise that you get to promote your book (rather than working at Bunnings or something), it might help you realise what a privilege it is to be faced with that problem. It's a problem which, once surmounted, buys you the opportunity to write another book.

Maybe you’re annoyed that you “have to” prepare a presentation for an audience of insurance assessors and you’ve got heaps of other things on your to-do list that feel like they should take precedence. If you can instead realise that you get to speak at events like this because of the expertise you’ve accumulated, and that it’s an incredible privilege to be educated and insightful enough that others want to sit in an audience to listen to you speak, I think you’ll find the whole process much more enjoyable.

We all choose our problems. We might as well enjoy them.