Obligations and Desires

Obligations. Things that we have a sense of duty for and that we know we should do. To be honest I’ve never been a fan of obligations. Not because I don’t believe in having a sense of duty, or doing the right things; I just believe in doing these things for the RIGHT REASON, rather than because you feel obligated.

There have been many instances in my life when I’ve felt obligated to do something. In most cases If I feel obligated and if someone is counting on me, I will do it – no questions asked. I’m sure most people out there are the same way. However, in these instances where I do something purely because I feel obligated, the experience in itself is much different than it would’ve been if I would have done the act on my own accord with my heart in the right place. This is where my frustration with obligations comes from. If you truly are obligated to do something, and there truly is a sense of duty that you have to do it, then it is probably something you should want to do and something you should be willing to do on your own accord, aside from the obligation. Your heart should be in the right place…to the point where it doesn’t become an obligation anymore, it becomes a desire. Therefore, I don’t think obligations should really exist; rather they should be replaced by righteous desires. Because like I said, if you feel obligated then obviously there is a certain expectation and a certain duty you should be fulfilling and in most cases it is a good thing. There might be certain circumstances where you could feel obligated to do something that isn’t right…in those cases the logic of my blog is completely thrown out the window, so for now we will ignore those haha. But if it is an obligation that sets you to a higher standard, one that you know you should be at, then it is up to you to turn it into a righteous desire rather than an obligation and that comes from within yourself and in your heart.

Once our attitude towards these “obligations” change and we truly see them as opportunities to grow or to do the right thing we can get so much more out of the experiences we have. Perhaps our actions haven’t changed one bit, we are still doing the same things, but the attitude can truly make all the difference. I know that having righteous desires in our lives can change them dramatically because it leads us to accomplishing and doing more good than we ever thought possible. The starting point is having that desire, and if it isn’t something that is already there for us as we fulfill our obligations than there are definitely things we can do to obtain those righteous desires. I really loved one of the conference talks this past April by Dallin H. Oaks that talked about righteous desires. He speaks on the topic so perfectly. You can read it here if you haven’t read it or heard it before: http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/desire?lang=eng

Having the right desires in life will lead us to accomplishing all the right things and in all the right ways and with the right attitude. It’s the beginning step to true happiness and joy.