Hadith: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would give up a deed, even though he liked to perform it, for fear that people would follow him and perform it, and it would thus become obligatory for them

عن عائشة رضي الله عنها ، قالت: «إنْ كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لَيَدَعُ العمل، وهو يُحِبُّ أن يعملَ به خَشْيَة أن يعملَ به الناس، فَيُفْرَضَ عليهم، وما سَبَّح رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سُبْحَة الضُّحى قَطُّ وإنِّي لَأُسَبِّحُهَا».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would give up a deed, even though he liked to perform it, for fear that people would follow him and perform it, and it would thus become obligatory for them. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) never prayed the Duha prayer, but I offer it.
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) relates that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would give up a deed, even though he liked to perform it, for fear that people would follow him and perform it, and it would thus become obligatory for them, and this might prove difficult for them. Then, she says that the Prophet would not perform the Duha prayer, but the scholars took this negation to refer to lack of regular performance; that is the Prophet would offer it sometimes, for its merit, and abandon it at other times lest it might beccome obligatory for people, as she mentions early in the Hadīth.