Duty Before Adventure.

Bill Gates does his dishes after supper. Joanna Gaines has to pick up spills from her kids. Lebron James is as obsessed about his bedtime routine.

No one escapes the work of everyday life. In our Instagram celebrity culture — it is easy for us to think that others have it better. How can they do all of ‘that’ when all I seem to do is change diapers?

We want the results — we want to get right to the sexy stuff. As a result, we get discouraged when the journey is harder than expected, or when there is an overwhelming amount of mundane work. We lose our sense of presence and start to think ‘what if’ or ‘I wish I could,’ or ‘I would if….’ Sometimes, we can even resent our family, friends, and work and feel as if we got left behind.

When we start to feel behind, average, or lost in the mundane necessities of everyday life, we have two options. We can neglect it — in which case it only builds and causes more frustration. Or, we approach those duties as ways to learn discipline and consistency.

My boys have to brush teeth before they go outside to play. They need to pick up the toys from one task before another. I have to pay my mortgage and buy groceries before we go on vacation.

We all have duties and responsibilities that need to take ownership of before we explore our adventures. In these less exciting moments, we can either wish it was different, or learn to like it.

This is life — and it can be just as good in the cleaning out the cat litter box and feeding him (I have a free cat if anyone wants one), as it is in our most exciting and Instagram-worthy moments. It’s up to us to find it. Life truly is what you make it, even in the seemingly most mundane and dull moments.