A few months ago I started crocheting at the suggestion of a friend. We’ll crochet at lunch, she said, and then we’ll sell the results. Having learned to crochet many, many years ago, it came back to me easily and in no time I had some several items completed. However, as I was crocheting I noticed that I found myself thinking that I had to hurry and finish up. How odd, I thought. Why in the world would I need to hurry up and finish? It wasn’t like I had anyone waiting for the baby things I was making.
The thing is that it felt like a chore. Even though I knew how and it was very easy, I didn’t want to do it.
Three weeks ago, after thinking about it for several years, I finally went to a Toastmasters meeting. Very much a face-my-fears milestone. After the third meeting I realized I would need to spend a significant amount of time preparing to speak and I found myself dreading that preparation. Was I looking for a way to avoid public speaking? Possibly. On the other hand, there was no particular reason beyond facing-my-fears to spend my time preparing speeches.
Mostly though, I felt like I was taking on yet another chore when my goal is to discover how I can live a richer life.
So the lesson here is that if it feels like a chore, don’t do it.
