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I travel on this journey to gain the life that I want to gain. I hit the potholes and the set-backs and keep moving forward because of my conviction, my commitment, and my Why. I also keep moving forward because of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the flip side to my coin on this journey. It is the price that I pay as I struggle to get to the goals I have set out for myself and without it, there would only be a circular path instead of one that climbs to the heights I am working on reaching.

The simple idea here is that nothing in life comes without us putting something into it. It could be the money to get a nice car or the time it take to build something with our hands. There is always something that we must exchange or sacrifice if we are to get the things that we want. We can understand  this concept very easily when we look at commerce. There is no way for me to buy a loaf of bread or a new computer without giving away the money that I have earned. Giving that money is a sacrifice, one that I have learned to barely think about in our modern world. Still is a sacrifice and one that I need to be aware of and make actively rather than passively. This teaches me to see and understand the sacrifices in the other areas of my life so that I can be active in those decisions. The real question that we need to ask ourselves as we set out our goals and our time tables for those goals is “What am I willing to sacrifice to achieve the goal?’. This question will help define the goals themselves and the life that I believe I want to have.

Let’s take an example here. As you probably know by now, the ways that I love to spend my free time are playing games and watching stories, be it movies, shows or theatre. These things are generally a very isolated activity commonly. Though I may go to a movie with my wife, I am not really connecting with her during the movie. I also know that having a loving relationship with my wife is very important to me and to the life that I plan on leading. Take those two facts with knowing that my wife isn’t interested in games for the most part and doesn’t consider the stories I love as a way to connect and there comes a choice that I need to make. I have to analyze my goals of having a deep and meaningful relationship with the idea that to do so, I will need to sacrifice time from my joys of gaming and stories to invest in that relationship. Understanding that sacrifice not only allows me to make it and not feel resentful about it since I understand it, but it also allows me to understand myself and priorities in my life. By being active in understanding what my goals are and what the sacrifices that I will need to make to achieve them, I can tailor both of those to be things that I am happy to live with. It will eventually be a compromise to maintain my path.

If we follow our goals and decide to sacrifice whatever it takes without thought to what those sacrifices are, we will reach our goal and find it unfulfilling as we have sacrificed too much of what we actually hold dear. If we avoid all sacrifice, we will never move along the path towards our goals. There can’t be improvement in our lives without it costing something. It is time to become aware of what it is costing us and tailor our lives to balance the drive and the sacrifice so that we can be fulfilled along the journey.

What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals? Are those sacrifices sustainable, or will you end up binging and losing the path to your goals because the chosen road costs you too much?