Those words may sound like poor motivators for accomplishing anything. However, that is what I told someone the other day who asked how do I keep myself going. (I've quit smoking and lost 70 pounds in the last two years.) I went on to tell her that only children get to constantly say, "I don't want to," and even then they get away with it only until we socialize them into adults. We adults do many things we don't want to: pay bills, cook dinner, kiss boo boos, etc. But we have many privileges, too. We get to decide when to go to bed or have dessert or whether to have an extra cookie or a smoke. As an adult, I had to make some decisions about my health and my body, which led to some planning when I determined that things weren't going in the direction I wanted them to. Another thing I do, or don't do, maybe I should say, is think anymore about what I have to do than is necessary. I think long enough to understand what type of fix I'm in and how to get out of it, and I make adjustments along the way. That is probably my instructional designer side coming out. I know that if we think about doing something ten times, for instance, it'll feel like we've already done it and when it's time to do it, we'll already be tired. I discipline myself; do it, and then reward myself with extra sleep, and extra cookie or slice of pizza, a cafe mocha, clothing, books. And sometimes I know that the pain is only temporary, like that associated with giving birth. The end result is worth it. Some things become more difficult to do the longer we let them go unabated. I remind myself of those things and that pain is not suffering. And while I'm complaining, I'm doing it. I'm usually doing what I complaining about not being able to do.
