What will You Sacrifice?

  

This Charles DuBos quote had a massive impact on my life. It put into perspective what was required to experience total life change. Here is the quote:

“The important thing is this: To be willing at any moment to sacrifice what you are for what you would become.”

   The phrase sacrifice what you are really hit me between the eyes. I had never thought of it this way before. For the first time I realized that sacrifice was a major part of the life change process. Webster’s defines sacrifice as: Giving something up for the sake of something else; act of giving up. When you make the decision to sacrifice something that void has to be filled in another way. For something else.

   As I meditated on that quote for days I began thinking about what I needed to sacrifice. Sacrifice to me means giving up things you may enjoy that are not valuable for something that is. Are you willing to sacrifice happy hour each night and read life changing material instead? Will you sacrifice watching bad re-runs and watch an inspirational video? Will you sacrifice a donut to go for a walk around the block?

   What you sacrifice has to be important to you otherwise it isn’t a real sacrifice. Also, if you sacrifice one thing that isn’t valuable for another then you will get nowhere. You have to be willing to make real changes to become who you want to be. People think that their life will be over if they seriously cut back on watching television. As if their life would be over if they didn’t watch Seinfeld every night. That of course is nonsense.

   If you are really serious about life change then you should be more than willing to make real sacrifices otherwise you need to examine what you really want. I replaced television with reading and study, or writing. I thought it would bother me, but to be honest I don’t miss it at all. I find now that when the television is on I get irritated because I find it to be a tremendous waste of time. I’m not saying I never watch TV, but it has to be something that provides value to me.

   Take the time to write down everything you do on a regular basis. Whatever it is. Then on another piece of paper make two columns and label one side valuable and another one not valuable. You know the difference. The key with this exercise is to be honest with yourself. You know a reality show isn’t really valuable no matter how you spin it. Look at your original list and begin to fill the columns. Then decide what you will sacrifice and what you can do instead that will help you grow.

   If you find seven things you need to sacrifice don’t try to stop them all at once. This can be very difficult and discouraging. Try one a month at first. Make a point of not doing this one thing for a month and doing something else. Then write down how that worked for you. What you will soon see is that if you’re honest with yourself you won’t miss it at all. The reason is because you have gained so much from replacing it with something valuable.

   When you fill your life with things that help you make life changes and you see the results you will be more than willing to make more sacrifices. You need to take your life seriously and not do things just because they are fun. I have found as much enjoyment from personal growth then I ever did from watching TV or other things I have sacrificed over time. Invest in yourself. Be willing to do whatever it takes to have the life you dreamed of. What are you willing to do?