"If you can't avoid it, enjoy it."
This short sentence goes beyond a simple life tip — it pierces the essence of how we approach life. We make countless choices as we live, yet we also find ourselves in situations where no choice is available. Faced with tasks we must do, responsibilities we must bear, and realities we cannot escape, people easily fall into complaint or resignation.
What matters, however, is not the situation itself but how we receive it. If something displeases you, change it. If you cannot change it, change your attitude toward it. And do not complain. Life ultimately differs not by circumstance but by the attitude you bring to it.
Since my mid-30s, I have lived by the attitude of "if you can't avoid it, enjoy it." At first, it was closer to a personal resolution to reduce the stress that came from work burdens. But once that resolution became habit, change began. I did not stop at accepting the unavoidable — I started finding enjoyment within it. From that point, Monday blues disappeared, and fatigue and stress no longer ruled me even amid busy schedules. The work was the same, but once my attitude changed, it became not a burden but a pleasure.
Confucius already grasped this insight. "Those who know it are not as good as those who love it, and those who love it are not as good as those who enjoy it (知之者不如好之者 好之者不如樂之者)." Human potential is unleashed most fully when one goes beyond liking something to becoming immersed, discovering meaning, and feeling joy.
This principle applies equally to study, work, and life as a whole. The gap between a student who sits at a desk by force and one who knows the joy of learning and becomes immersed only widens over time. The same is true in the workplace. The performance of someone who regards work merely as a means of livelihood and someone who understands what value their work creates and becomes immersed in it is difficult to compare.
The cases of world-class athletes illustrate this even more clearly. Park Ji-sung, Son Heung-min, and Lee Young-pyo all consistently say they love and enjoy football. The strength that carried them through grueling training and fierce competition must also have sprung from that enjoyment. Joy makes pain bearable, leads to deep immersion, and ultimately produces excellence.
Looking back, there was a time when I, too, performed my work solely out of a sense of duty. On Sunday nights, my heart grew heavy thinking about the next day, and the endless work felt like a burden. Then one day, I asked myself a question: "Why do I do this work, and what does it mean?" At that moment, I realized the problem was not the work but my attitude toward it. From then on, I resolved: if you can't avoid it, enjoy it.
Changing one's attitude does not happen overnight. But as you come to understand the meaning and value of your work and focus on it, change begins gradually. Work starts to look not like a burden but a challenge, and at some point, we discover ourselves not "doing" the work but "enjoying" it.
People move when they feel meaning, and they persist when they feel joy. The force that drives life lies not in external conditions but in inner attitude. Complaint changes nothing, but attitude changes everything. Within the same reality, some grow weary while others grow. The difference is not environment — it is attitude.
Will you live a life dragged along by force, or will you live contemplating life's meaning and enjoying it? That choice ultimately determines the direction of your life. For those who complain, reasons to complain only multiply; for those who enjoy, new possibilities open up. In the end, we live a life commensurate with the attitude we choose. And that attitude determines where your life will take you.