Do What you Enjoy to get a Leg up on Willpower

We’re told to focus on what we enjoy and are good at because it’s so damn hard to find the willpower to consistently do good work. The commitment and hard work it takes is already too much for most, but for it to be something you do not enjoy is like trying to run a muddy hill. You might make some solid progress, but you will slide right back down as soon as you stop.

As I grow in my life and career, I enjoy particular areas more than others. For example, I enjoy working through mountains of data or notes and drawing correlations between them. Finding those hidden connections is like solving a puzzle with tangible results. These activities require little willpower, thus increasing what I can get done in a day.

I would contrast this with something I don’t enjoy doing, but you get the point. Why waste your precious willpower each day getting something done you don’t enjoy when you can get more done with less effort?

Here’s my crude attempt to illustrate this visually:

Wouldn’t it be nice to get home from work each day with energy left to work on that project you’ve always talked about? Finding what you enjoy might help with that.