I Hate Doing It, but I Love Having Done It

One of my favorite quotations is, “I hate writing, but I love having written.” And that has been attributed to various famous writers including Dorothy Parker and others, but I’ve never found verification for who actually said it.

It’s interesting that writers often feel like they’re suffering while they are writing and revising, but they enjoy the final product.

I heard that phrase for the first time from a friend of mine who’s a sportswriter, but he was using it in relation to running. He said, “I hate running, but I love having run.”

It so well captures the duality of something that we find to be drudgery, but which we appreciate the outcome from.

Like cleaning up around the house, or doing the dishes, or practicing the ukulele, or whatever it is that you might be involved in, where it’s not exactly enjoyable so much while you’re doing it, but you appreciate what you benefit from after having done it.

If there’s anything in your life where you feel like you honestly don’t enjoy it while you’re doing it, but you appreciate the benefits, you may try phrasing it in those terms – I hate this thing that I’m doing, but I love having done it – and see if that doesn’t cast it in the perfect light.