• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The One You Feed

Practical Wisdom for a Better Life

  • About
    • The Parable
    • The Podcast
    • Eric Zimmer
    • The Team
  • The Podcast
    • All Episodes
    • Anxiety & Depression
    • Addiction & Recovery
    • Habits & Behavior Change
    • Meditation & Mindfulness
    • Mini Episodes
  • Programs
    • Spiritual Habits Group Program
    • In-Person Fall Workshop
    • The Well Trained Mind
    • Book Free Consultation
  • Membership
  • Resources
    • Anti-Racism Resources
    • COVID-19 Support
    • Blog
    • Reading List
    • Facebook Group
  • Contact
    • General Inquiries
    • Guest Requests

But I Don’t Want To!

November 15, 2013 1 Comment

I don't want to- The One You Feed

Here’s the situation. You know you should go for a run but you feel like sitting on the couch, watching the next episode of Breaking Bad and eating a few more potato chips.

Most of us would say “I don’t want to workout”.

But that isn’t exactly correct. It’s not that you don’t want to workout, it’s just that you don’t feel like it.

I was first introduced to this idea from the wonderful writings of Rabbi Noah Wineburg who wrote the 48 Ways to Wisdom.

The idea is to switch from saying you don’t want to do something to realizing that you do want to do it but you don’t feel like it.

It’s a small change but by reminding yourself of what you really want, you help switch the focus from your mood back to your intention. Moods are mighty fickle.

In Oliver Burkeman’s great book “The Antidote” he explores the idea that we all think we have to feel like doing something in order to do it. This is a notoriously common view and the cause of most of the procrastination in the world. We don’t have to feel like doing something. We need to just do it.

There is an old phrase in recovery circles that says “You cant think your way into right action. You have to act your way into right thinking”. For alcoholics and addicts this is critical because their mood is never going to align at the beginning of their recovery.

Dan Millman, author of The Way of the Peaceful Warrior says: “Life demands right action, if knowledge is to come alive.”

This is one of things that can be troubling about the positive thinking model. It encourages the idea that what we think or feel is the most important thing. We don’t feel motivated, inspired or fired up.

There are simply going to be times that we don’t feel like doing something but we still need to do it.

 

Filed Under: Blog, Featured

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. – The One You Feed says:
    December 17, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    […] of the themes we explore often at The One You Feed is that we don’t have to feel like doing something, we just have to do it anyways. But if that was as easy to do as it is to say, well you wouldn’t be reading this would you? The […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

The One You Feed

Follow Us



GET YOUR FREE GUIDE

Sign-up now to get your FREE GUIDE: Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Seem To Stick With A Meditation Practice (And How To Actually Build One That Lasts), our monthly newsletter, The Good Wolf Feed, our monthly email teachings about behavior change as well as other periodic valuable content.

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Back to Top