I am struggling to force myself to do work that does not appeal to me in the least. I can think of a thousand things I'd rather be doing. I pity every child in school who has to force himself to sit in those chairs and do hour after hour of (what is to him) drudge work. I am both the child and the taskmaster right now. To see if I could find something encouraging on the internet to inspire me in this task, I found this admonition from William C. Gannett, author of Making the Most of Life (1886) admonishing us to “the very fundamentals of all fine manhood and fine womanhood, the fundamentals that underlie all fulness and without which no other culture worth the winning is even possible,” namely:
- power of attention
- power of industry
- promptitude in beginning work
- method and accuracy and despatch in doing it
- perseverance
- courage before difficulties
- cheer
- self-control and
- self-denial "
The sermon in church this past Sunday was on giving thanks as you go through trials of all kinds. The pastor advised that if we cooperate with God and learn the lessons the first time, maybe God wouldn't have to keep bringing us round again and again through the same thing. Those who love me can pray I would not be mutton-headed, and would learn to exercise these qualities in the present state of self-imposed torture in which I find myself.
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