Things Bryce Doesn’t Like, but Which He Does Anyway

It occurred to me this morning that there’s actually a fairly long list of things I don’t really like to do, but which I do anyway–voluntarily–for any number of reasons. Why did it occur to me this morning? Maybe it had something to do with getting up at 5am to go teach seminary.

Ya think?

Anyway. I thought it might make for an interesting blog post, but that might just be the sleep deprivation speaking. Note that to qualify for this list, it has to be something I consistently dislike across the board. Yes, we all don’t like our jobs from time to time, and we do them anyway. But hopefully we like them more often than not. There are days I don’t like writing, but I enjoy it more often than not. So it’s not on this list. Make sense?

Also (ironically), broccoli is not on this list. I like broccoli.

Here we go:

• Getting up before 7am. I hates it. Hates it with a passion. There are some days when I get up before 8am and don’t mind it, but before 7am? Absolute yuck. Why do I do it? Because I have things that need to get done at that time. Maybe teaching seminary. Maybe going to a meeting. Maybe getting my writing in on a busy day. But just because I do it, doesn’t mean I have to like it.
• Yard work–I don’t ever recall a time I’ve enjoyed working in the yard. Mowing the lawn. Weeding. Digging ditches. There have been times I’ve enjoyed being in the company of someone while I was doing those things, but every time, I would have rather been in their company doing anything else (practically). Bryces don’t like bugs and heat, and those are almost always directly tied to yard work. Why do I do it? Because that grass ain’t gonna cut itself. Because sometimes Denisa needs help in the garden. Because there’s such a thing as chores, and you do them.
• The dishes–See above.
• Exercise–I don’t mind going for a walk, or doing outdoorsy things. Exercising just to get the heart rate up? Absolute blech. Why do I do it? Well, I don’t do it as often as I should. But when I do, it’s because I recognize I’ll feel better after it’s over. Beyond just the relative better feeling I’ll have that comes from no longer doing something I dislike doing.
• Airplane travel–If you don’t know this about me, you haven’t been reading the blog for very long.
• Dental work–See above.
• Grocery shopping–Ugh. Torture. So many decisions, so many people, so much yuck. But I like eating, and you have to buy the food before you can eat it. Or so I’ve been told.
• Clothes shopping–Heck. Shopping in person almost always is awful. Why do I do it? Because people I like to be with are going shopping in person. Though clothes shopping in particular . . . I know I have to wear them, but I hate buying them. Trying them on. Waiting for other people to try them on. Awful. I like shopping where I can look at other reviews, compare other stores, and do it all from the comfort of my computer.
• Being in small spaces–I’ve got a bit of claustrophobia. Not enough to make me too bad on elevators, but they do make me squirm. (Also one of the reasons those airplanes are just terrible . . . ) And yet I’ll go into small spaces if I have to . . . insulate the crawl space of my house, for example.
• Punishing my kids–Loathe this. And yet I’m often “the punisher” at home. I hate that I have to do it, but I know it has to be done, unless I want to have children who grow up to be horrid little monsters.
• Setting and cleaning up mouse traps–See also dealing with bats inside the house. This one must be self-explanatory, right?

It’s not a comprehensive list, but I don’t want the post to get to whiny. The takeaway I get from all of this is that sacrifice is a real thing, and it’s something we all do all the time. We do things we don’t like to do because we want to get something we really want more. whether that’s helping a spouse or going to see cool destinations.

What about you? What are the things you hate to do, but which you do anyway? Anything on my list you love doing and think I’m crazy for hating?