“Do not think of work, any work, as a duty. If it is a duty, then it will become a burden to you. How do you turn a burden into a pleasure? Live respectfully, correctly and boldly.” - Nakamura Tempu
Do you ever get corrected when using the word “should” or do you ever find yourself directing someone to do something by telling that they “should” do it only to be corrected with, “there are no should.” For the longest time, it was hard for me to figure out what it was they were implying. The word “should” is defined as a word “used to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness, typically when criticizing someone's actions.” The definition of “should” alludes to this understanding that its use is about control. Therefore, if we do something because we “should” then we are typically not doing it because we want to. If we are in control of ourselves, and we are because we have free will, then whatever it is that we do is because it is our choice. Thus, everything that we do is because we “want” to without any outside obligation or influence. Likewise, when we tell someone that they “should” do something there is an element of control in our request. Somethings are out of our control or we are obligated to do them, but we can take back our control by substituting “should” with “choose” or “want.” Training in budo is hard work, but that doesn’t mean it has to be horrible work. In order to turn a burden into a pleasure, all we have to do is reaffirm ourselves that it is our choice and so we “choose” to do it or that we do it because we “want” to. Today, while you have the chance, it would be nice if you chose something that you want to do and made best use of your time.
Today’s goal: Spend the day thinking about what it is that you want and make sure it is not because someone else wants it.