All the time.

But how often do you do something that you didn’t want to do, but you actually had a choice?

Jack Bauer often says, “You always have a choice.”

In truth, it’s the fact that I made a choice that wasn’t what I wanted to do, but because doing the act would have given me benefit. Yet at what point, is that benefit not worth it?

In college, a friend coerced me to join an environmental lobbying group during the summer. We canvassed the local areas. But there was a problem: I joined, because of the friendship. But I didn’t think about myself. And as the job begun, I wasn’t spending time with her. The perceived benefit was gone. And I wanted to quit.

But as I gave my resignation on the third day, I couldn’t even stand up for myself and lamely said, “My parents want me to quit.”

“Do you?” my manager said. “What do you think?”

“I want to go,” I said.

But the fact is, I didn’t want to do it in the first place, but I followed along, essentially kicking and screaming the entire time. Silently. I didn’t believe in the cause and nor did I have any interest in this kind of lobbying. I went door to door and performed horribly. Interestingly, people took pity on my performance because not only did I read the speech fast and dispassionately, they thought that I was the most awkward person ever.

This is a good resolution: stop doing things that other people expect you to do, if you really truly don’t want to do it.