Learn To Love Dislikes
While writing this work, the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose above thirty-six Million. Uncertain when an effective vaccine will be available globally, our success nowadays mostly hinges on how efficient we are to keep the virus at bay and how agile we are to rise above challenges.
When most of us confined to private spaces as a testament to our collective will to fight corona, nothing more encouraging than turning associated challenges into great opportunities. Of all the life survival lessons that I’d learned in the past several months, this one was exemplary – Art of learning to love your dislikes.
Adherence to life “principles”
If I were to prepare a hate-list from a plethora of mundane tasks a few months ago, cleaning would take the top position.
Whenever the prospects of cleaning loomed large in life, it was outsourcing that bailed me out, barring a few instances of forced labor under mother’s watch during childhood. Being a computer engineering graduate hails from India’s southern part where most young graduates rely on outsourced IT jobs for their livelihood, no better alternative I could think of for such a repetitive laborious task.
I preserved the status quo even when the dramatic turn of events in personal life brought me to this neat and beautiful country, well known for fighting dirt in the facades to the floor to the road. As far as cleaning is concerned, it was alertness rather than fear that rescued me from touching broomsticks and mops on several occasions.
As my elusiveness grew over time, decisions received more spontaneity – a reason why cleaner was hired as soon as my better half unilaterally added house cleaning to my responsibilities.
[lock-down-lover virus changed everything]
Having privileged to hire the best cleaners, I wouldn’t have bothered about the microscopic villain unless my wife had banned any external help for an indefinite period. Despite my pleas to consider cleaning companies adhering to safety standards, she unequivocally declared allegiance to her strange COVID protocols. So I had to break the cocoon.
After a very long time, I grabbed the broomstick – for an entirely different purpose than it used in Harry Potter movies – only to wonder how efficient I am in cleaning while exploring the nook and corners of the house undiscovered for a very long time. Some spectators were also present to pass loose comments and hollow advices, including this heart-breaking one from a seemingly “empathetic” elder son.
“you should have brought a drone to clean AC grills instead of risking yourself on that ladder.”
Paradigm shift
Initial euphoria began to fade. Few weekends went by without the roaring of vacuum cleaner and noise of furniture being dragged. Couches incessantly collected dirt and stains. Soon, turmoil broke out in the house over cluttered coffee tables and overfilled waste bins.
However much adamant in my excuses, the consequences of my inaction were evident as I looked around. Strange enough, finding out a win-win solution was relatively easy, owing to the fact that the brain had become more malleable during the pandemic.
The following week, a book’s audio version played through my headset while cleaning and mopping the entire house as though, metaphorically, enhancing the taste of oatmeal breakfast by adding milk and dried grapes. Along with the floor dries up, discontent within the house also got evaporated as the smiles returned to all faces.
Because no one dared to disturb my chore, unexpected private time – a forbidden fruit to parents since online schooling – was really just the cherry on the cake!
The idea looks simple yet has a multitude of practical uses and more than one dimension.
Firstly, it advocates finding out a reason to love our engagements so as to unleash its enormous potentials – be it in relationships or work or household chores. Although we may have had grievances, always look at the positive side to take it to new levels, which will be encouraging and nourishing.
Secondly, enjoying chores and responsibilities that create boredom involves a great deal of creativity, like watching a favorite movie on the phone while waiting for an always-late friend or listening to audio lessons while cooking.
Finally, a small detour around prejudice and delusions can profoundly impact life. Simple attitudinal or behavioral changes could go a long way to improve the quality of our life.
In a nutshell, we may have many dislikes, especially when it comes to chores and responsibilities, and circumventing them could give us temporary warm fuzzies inside. But doing so would perhaps miss many gems along the way. A rather rewarding approach would be to bring in creative ideas to love our dislikes to unleash its great potentials.
What’s your take? Do you think your hate-list worth a revisit?