It’s not always easy to do what’s good for you. My husband hates vegetables. Taste, texture, even smell. It wasn’t until a couple months ago he finally starting adding them to his diet in the form of a veggie protein shake, that way he can slug his veggies down. I decided to join him in slurping those veggie shakes, partly because if we are both doing it, he’ll more likely drink it in the morning and partly because I could use more veggies in my diet.

There are some mornings I don’t want to make those shakes. And there are some mornings I would rather have something else (like a doughnut, yum!). But I tell myself, “No,” and then I go and make those shakes. And I am always glad I did!

As I was making our shakes this morning, I realized how this applies to other areas of my life. There are days I don’t want to read my Bible or pray. I’m energized and ready to tackle my to-do list and the thought of pausing for twenty minutes to have my quiet time feels deflating. But I’ve lived long enough to know that I need to center my day around God, and so I head to my room, get on my knees, and pray. I never regret taking that time out each morning.

The same goes for my writing. There are many days I don’t want to write. I just want to be a regular mother and take care of my family. But if I don’t write, the story doesn’t happen and deadlines are not met. So I put aside my tasks (I’ll admit, it’s not hard to say no to laundry!), sit down in front my computer, and write out my word count for the day. Sometimes the words flow. Sometimes I feel like I would write faster if I just pounded my head across the keyboard. But in the end, I am always happy that I took the time to work on my book. Each day of writing brings me that much closer to a finished manuscript.

How about you? What do you not always enjoy doing, but you know is good for you? And how do you feel when you do it?