Redefining Work

Work is often defined as physical or mental labor required to produce a result. The famous saying, “Work to live, not live to work,” indicates work is required to generate resources, such as money, so you can survive and potentially live as you wish. In this saying, work is not seen as a passion, but as a necessity.

Creating a New Habit

Behavioral patterns are considered habits when they meet the criteria laid out in the well-known habit loop: (1) trigger, (2) recurring behavior (the habit itself), and (3) reward. The trigger prompts the habit to occur pretty much subconsciously. It can be a regular time, circumstance, location, emotional event, smell, sound, or anything else you associate with the habit. The reward is a payoff you desire. Rewards are often an emotional response, like feeling elated when you complete your morning exercise or pleasure from a bite of chocolate. A reward can also be the opposite, an escape from emotion, such as that achieved from consuming too much alcohol.

Unintended Consequences

On a recent hike, I came across an odd sight: a bag of dog poop 30 feet up a tree. Okay. Let’s just review this for a moment. Someone took the time to carry poo bags four miles in, then carefully collect the poop, only to toss the PLASTIC bag out into the woods? I mean, I get it that carrying a loaded bag of shit for miles isn’t desirable. So, why take the bags at all? Why not just bury the crap a couple feet off the trail? Once I got past the humor of the situation, I began to doubt the person meant for the bag to end up stuck in a tree. More than likely they tossed it thinking it would land somewhere out away from the trail. Anyway, it got me thinking about unintended consequences.

Dealing with Doubt

As discussed in my previous entry, Doubt, there are many reasons we don’t achieve or pursue our dreams; however, doubt is among the most harmful. Doubt kills belief in our goals and denies us the energy needed to pursue our dreams. So how do you deal with doubt?