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Today’s quote comes from William James.

William James (1842–1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist, widely regarded as one of the founders of modern psychology in the United States. He taught at Harvard University and was influential in the development of pragmatism, a philosophical approach emphasizing the practical consequences of ideas. His best-known works include The Principles of Psychology and The Varieties of Religious Experience.

William James once said…

“Everyone should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.”

This is interesting and could even be considered counterintuitive.

Why should you do anything you hate to do?

But this quote is actually a modern paraphrase of the actual quote which gives a little more context. The original quote is…

“Do something every day for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test. “

​This quote is all about discipline. It takes discipline to do something every day that you hate doing. Most of us wait until we feel like doing something. But discipline means doing what needs to be done even when we don’t feel like doing it.

Another reason why this quote is good advice is that it would build your tolerance for discomfort. Every time you tackle something you’d rather avoid, you become a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

And being comfortable with the uncomfortable makes you more resilient.

And if you are getting anxious about doing things you don’t want to do, don’t forget that James is only suggesting doing two things each day that you hate to do. He isn’t saying everything you do should be something you hate doing.Each and every time you do something you don’t want to do you prove to yourself that you are capable of acting despite the resistance.I am doing this right now. As much as I love the Daily Quote… and I genuinely do, right now it is late at night. I worked late, got home and my daughters birthday party was still happening. I got to eat some delicious birthday cake and say good night to my girls. But instead of going to bed I had to write an outline, record the show and publish it. Which I am doing right now, even though I would love to be in bed right now. So here’s the question:What is one or two things you hate doing that you know would be good for you if you did them today?Whatever those things are, commit to yourself that you will do them today.Don’t procrastinate, make excuses and tell yourself you’ll do it tomorrow. Because tomorrow is ALWAYS a day away.We spend a lot of time trying to make life more comfortable. But maybe we should spend a little more time getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Because the more we practise doing difficult things, the less power they have over us. We just do them and tick the done checkbox.That’s going to do it for today. I’m Andrew McGivern signing off for now, but I’ll be back… tomorrow! Same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.

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