We've been having beautiful weather recently in my corner of the world, which is something of a rarity. I have a number of side projects and hobbies that I tinker with during the evenings, all of them indoors. The beautiful days were making me feel guilt about not spending time outside.

So I took to going on bike rides after work, dropping by the beach on occasion, and hiking on weekends. Unfortunately, during these activities, my mind was usually back on my side projects, planning what to do next. I'd often rush my excursions. I was trying to tick the "outdoors" box so I could get back to my passions without guilt.

This realization fueled the guilt. I began to wonder how I could actually enjoy the outdoors, if both staying inside and playing outside left me dissatisfied.

What I realized was this: You don't enjoy nice weather by forcing yourself outdoors. You enjoy nice weather by having an outdoor hobby, an outdoor passion that you pursue regardless of weather. Then when the weather is good, you enjoy it automatically and non-superficially.

Similarly:

You don't become a music star by trying. You become a music star by wanting to make music.

You don't become intelligent by trying. You become intelligent by wanting the knowledge.

It was a revelation to me that I can't always take a direct path to the type of person I want to be. If I want to change the type of person that I am, I may have to adopt new terminal goals.