I Get to Do This

A mindset shift that makes life feel lighter, even when nothing around you changes.

Lately, every time I lace up my shoes or walk into the gym, I hear the same line in my head:

I get to do this.

To move. To sweat. To push my body. Ten years ago, all of it felt like punishment. Now it feels like a privilege, and nothing about my life changed except how I choose to see it.

For a long time, I approached most things in my life like an obligation. Work felt like something I had to do. Exercise felt like something I should do. Even journaling or saving money felt like chores I needed to “stay on top of.”

And I don’t think I’m the only one. A lot of us move through our days with this low-grade pressure, like life is one long list we’re always behind on.

It’s exhausting not because life is hard, but because we frame even the good parts like responsibilities.

I get to move my body

There’s something powerful about realizing you get to use your body instead of forcing it. Growing up, running was always the punishment in sports — the thing you did when you messed up, when the coach was mad, when the team needed to be disciplined. I carried that feeling for years. Movement was a chore. Something to suffer through. Something I “should” do to stay in shape.

But somewhere along the way, that shifted. Now, moving my body feels like one of the greatest privileges I have. I get to run, hike, lift, sweat, breathe hard, and feel alive in a way that so many people can’t. What used to feel like a consequence now feels like a gift. It is a way to reset my mind, shake off stress, and remind myself I’m still here, still capable, still in motion.

And that’s the strange part about this whole mindset shift: the workout didn’t change. My life didn’t change. I just stopped seeing movement as a punishment and started seeing it as an opportunity.

I get to go on a long run with a beautiful view like this.

I get to learn and reflect

The same shift happened with my mind. When I was younger, anything involving writing, reading, or reflection felt like homework. Something you did because you had to, not because you wanted to. Journaling was an assignment. Thinking deeply was a class. Planning for the future was something adults did, not something I needed to worry about.

But over the past few years, reflection has become one of the greatest privileges of my life. I get to write out my thoughts, make sense of what I’m feeling, track my progress, and actually see the ways I’ve grown. I get to read books that stretch me, ask better questions, and think long-term in a way younger me never could.

The craziest part is realizing how rare it is to have the time, space, and mental clarity to do any of that. A lot of people move through life in survival mode, constantly reacting. So, the fact that I get to sit down, slow down, and understand myself is something I don’t take lightly anymore.

Reflection stopped feeling like a responsibility and started feeling like a blessing. It is a reminder that I’m in control of my life, not just living inside of it.

I get to read good books and reflect on what it means to me.

I get to work and build a future

The same perspective shift changed the way I think about work, too. In my early twenties, I bought into the idea that there was some perfect job out there — something exciting, meaningful, flexible, high-paying, fulfilling, all at once. And when real life didn’t match that fantasy, everything felt like an obligation. Work was something I had to get through, not something I got to participate in.

But the older I get, the more grateful I am to have any work that challenges me, pays me well enough to live my life, and gives me the chance to grow. I get to be part of something bigger than myself. I get to build skills. I get to collaborate with good people. I get to earn a living that supports the life I want to create.

That shift carried over into my finances, too. I wasn’t taught much about money growing up, and for years it felt like something I was constantly behind on. But when things finally clicked for me in 2023, saving and investing stopped feeling like chores. Now they feel like gifts. I get to save for my future. I get to live below my means. I get to build stability instead of fear it.

Nothing about my job or my circumstances magically transformed. I just stopped chasing perfection and started appreciating the opportunity I already had.

I get to spend my Sunday afternoon writing, reflecting, and thinking.

Seeing life as a privilege

What I’m realizing is that so much of our stress comes from the way we label things.
We call something a burden, and suddenly it feels heavy.
We call something a responsibility, and suddenly it feels like pressure.
But when we remember it’s a privilege, it lands completely differently.

And almost everyone has a version of this.

We say things like:

“I have to go to work,”
when the truth is — we get to have a job, an income, and the chance to build something for ourselves.

“I have to work out,”
when we actually get to move our bodies in ways that many people can’t.

“I have to study, learn, improve,”
when we really get to grow, adapt, and evolve in ways our younger selves would be proud of.

“I have to save money,”
when we really get to build a future, our families never had the chance to.

“I have to take care of things,”
when we really get to be someone who is trusted, capable, and responsible.

So much of adulthood is reframing the very things we used to resent.

Most of life isn’t glamorous.
It’s routines, habits, responsibilities, small decisions, and quiet daily effort.
But those aren’t punishments, they’re the scaffolding of a life you’re lucky to live.

And that’s what I keep coming back to:
very little about my external life has changed.
The job is still the job.
The workout is still the workout.
The journal is still the journal.

But the way I see them changed everything.

A younger version of me would be shocked that I get to do so much of what I used to avoid. And honestly, that’s one of the best measures of growth:

realizing you’re now living the life a past version of you hoped for, even if it doesn’t look dramatic on the outside.

So maybe the question to ask yourself is simple:

Which parts of your life have you been treating like obligations… that might actually be privileges in disguise?

Because when you shift “I have to” into “I get to,” nothing on the outside needs to change, but the inside feels completely different.

See you next week.