Essay 27 Should people sometimes do things that they do not like?

Should people sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing? Many people strongly oppose this idea,
while others insist that although people naturally favor doing what they enjoy doing, under certain
circumstances people may well be advised to act against their interests and it would benefit people in
many ways. Personally, I would side with the latter.

For one thing, it usually takes quite some time for people to discover their interest. My personal
experience serves as a typical example. From my childhood, I learned a lot of time to discover my
interests. I tried to play an electronic organ, draw oil paintings, and even learned ballet. Superficially, it
seemed to be a sound solution to find out what my interest is, but when carefully weighing in the mind, I
find that it has wasted my plenty of time. A scrutiny of these arguments would reveal how unnecessary
they are.

For another reason, many things that people instinctively hate to do will actually benefit them in the long
run. A basketball star’s personal experience is a good example. He liked running when he was a child.
When he was in high school, he joined the track and field team. By chance he met a basketball coach and
was asked if he wanted to become an occupational basketball player. Although he was not interested in
playing basketball, nevertheless, his parents told him that doing something he hated to do might change his
whole life in a good way. By taking the advice of his parents he went to the basketball team and now he
turned out to be extremely success. For another example, we are not always interested to go to different
places. In fact, we will have more opportunities of improving our lives by moving around. As President
Kennedy pointed out , “ Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or the present are
certain to miss the future”.

Still, some people might list other reasons to explain why people should do some things that they do not
enjoy doing. However, I assume the points I have discussed in the analysis above are the most relevant!