Business Strategy/ Motivational
Do you sacrifice the things you like in order to make your boss happy? How about your partner in business or life? What if I told you it’s not necessary to sacrifice anything for what you want in life? You’d probably dismiss me as a heretic.
We’ve been conditioned to think that in order to have something, we have to give up something we like and hold dear. This line of thinking assumes that what you want is not as attractive, interesting, pleasant, valuable or all around acceptable as what you have to sacrifice. I beg to differ.
It is, after all, just a matter of perspective. You want higher revenue or sales, but you may have to give up long lunches, come to work at 7 AM instead of 9 AM, and learn to make every call, interaction, communication count. Are you sacrificing?
In other words, do you put higher value on longer lunches, coming to work at 9 AM, the interruptions in the office, or the long talks about last night’s game with your coworkers, versus having the higher salary that affords you more time with the family for vacations or baseball games on the weekends? Then don’t do it. In the long run you’ll be more satisfied not having had to give up all that you hold dear.
If you’re in this mindset, then those goals for which you feel you’re sacrificing aren’t really your goals. They don’t lead to something that you’re passionate or care about. In that case, the clear answer is to change your goals, careers, homes, or friends so that the choices are clearer and you’re doing something you love.
When you find a goal that has a higher value than any or all of the long lunches or social time with coworkers, then giving them up won’t feel like a sacrifice. In fact, doing the extra work won’t even feel like work since you have a passion for it and the goals you want to reach. You realize the value of the journey and the end result is higher than what you had to forego.
This is as true in our daily work as it is for a martyr or a soldier. Soldiers who offer their lives for a cause, do so with the full knowledge that the freedom and the cause they fight for is much more valuable than the oppressed life they would live otherwise. They freely give their life and don’t necessarily see it as a sacrifice, so much as a willingness to take on a risk for a higher and more important cause.
So, stop thinking you have to sacrifice anything in life. You may have to change your behavior to get something you’re passionate about, but that’ll come naturally if you’re following your life’s passion and doing what you love.
What Do You Think?
Do you differ with my opinion? Feel free to express yourself below.
Photo Credit: Tony the Misfit (taking a break)