Benefits of doing things you don’t like

• You do things you wouldn’t have tried otherwise

  This one is kinda obvious. But doing things you don’t want to do and wouldn’t have done otherwise opens up a whole plethora of new experiences and skills to explore.

  Sometimes, what we desire or need is right there in that dark area that we don’t want to explore. Be it in our mind, or real life.

• You learn new things

  You get to learn new stuff if you try new things that you’ve never done before.

  Furthermore, you might learn new things that surprise you in a good way like actually enjoying certain new experiences, or, you might learn something about yourself that you don’t particularly like or desire like for example being afraid of new experiences, especially those you do not feel comfortable doing.

  Regardless if the experience is overall positive or negative, new experiences will lead to growth. And this personal growth allows you to transform yourself into someone different. A new, better version of yourself.

• You get to know more about yourself

  

  You might figure out why you don’t like doing certain things. Not only that, but you might notice a certain pattern in the things you don’t enjoy doing.

  Furthermore, you’ll get to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses. This increased self-awareness allows you to improve on your weaker areas while simultaneously making you more aware of your strengths.

• You get to know what you don’t like

  This one seems obvious, and it is! But, it is also a point with a lot of hidden value.

  Getting to understand what you don’t like more deeply, like actually understanding why you don’t like certain things, will teach you a lot about yourself. It will force you to face the things you don’t like doing, and consequently, the things that you might not like about yourself.

  But what if you hate your job?

  If you hate your job, I would advise you to make plans shortly to switch jobs. Because if you hate your job now already, it won’t get better in the future either.

  Important regarding hating your job is to stop saying yes when you want to say no. Seeing as, this can make you resentful and unhappy, even if your job is enjoyable and satisfying.

• Teaches you that not everything in life is fun

  

  Let’s face it. Life is hard and can be ruthless at times. And no matter what ideal life a lot of people portray on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, life in reality is not that perfect.

  People these days have the perception that everything should be fun. But, that is not how life works. And sometimes, we’ve got to do the things we don’t like to reach the goals we desire and enjoy.

• Teaches you that you sometimes have to do things you don’t like for the greater good

  Sometimes we need to do some things we don’t enjoy to get to do the things we do enjoy.

  And while seemingly contradictory, it is the truth. Perseverance is one of the key components to achieve success.

  For example, it is possible for someone to like blogging, but not do the outreach and promotion part that goes with blogging. But to make enough money from one’s blog, one must most likely collaborate with other people to grow and promote their blog.

Disadvantages of doing things you don’t like

• You won’t like it

  Humans try to do things they enjoy while simultaneously avoiding the things they don’t enjoy. And if we think about it, that’s only logical. Because who actively wants to do things we don’t enjoy?

  Doing things you don’t like is, well… not enjoyable. And things we don’t enjoy are often left undone. Luckily, people can become aware. Thus, we can “see” in the future what will happen if we don’t do certain things we don’t enjoy doing.

• Doing too many things you don’t like might burn you out

  

  Despite all the advantages doing things you don’t want to do gives you, it is possible that doing too many things you don’t enjoy might burn you out in the process.

  That’s why a balance must be struck between doing enjoyable stuff and non-enjoyable stuff.

  In my experience, doing things one does not like is tolerated well if there’s a purpose behind it. A viable reason for doing it. But if no good reason is to be found, it frequently leads to burn-outs and, possibly, depression.

• Can seem pointless if not purposeful

  We people are typically searching for purpose in life. And concerning doing things we don’t enjoy, this is no different.

  If there’s no reason, no “why” behind doing non-enjoyable stuff, it might lead to anxiety and depression in the long run.

• Might make you unhappy

  

  It might make you unhappy if doing things you don’t like is improperly balanced with enjoyable things.

  Different people can tolerate different amounts of things they don’t like. It is up to each person individually to search for his/her boundaries to realize what one can manage.