What to do when what you want requires a sacrifice?
Many people have written to me commenting that they want to do something with their life, something that they love, that they really want but that they would have to make a great sacrifice to achieve it. And they go round and round their heads to see how they get out of that situation. Do you feel identified?
If that's your situation, it's important to keep this in mind:
1. If it were easy, you wouldn't be reading this.
As I have said many times, things can be relatively easy to do, but they are not easy. If not everyone would have what they want.
2. Everything requires a sacrifice, greater or less, things are not free.
Everything has a cost, the question is whether you are willing to assume it or not. That's the real question, are you willing to get what you want at any cost?
The answer depends only on you and there is nothing better or worse, everything depends on your circumstances and priorities right now. Maybe it is time to make the jump now, or maybe not yet. You decide, but don't think that the rest of us achieve things without sacrifices because it isn't.
Sometimes you get a great job opportunity but it is very far from your family.
Sometimes an opportunity arises in another country but your partner does not want to go.
Sometimes a business opportunity arises but it would mean greatly reducing your quality of life for a time.
Sometimes you want to have children but your career would suffer right now.
There are many different situations and only you can decide and, contrary to what you may think, it happens to all of us.
In each of these situations you have to analyze what you really want and the cost, the consequences of the decision. And what many tell me is not valid: "If I knew that what I was going to do was going to turn out well, then I would do it."
Man, sure, you and everyone. But we cannot know that in advance, as I have already mentioned many times. You have to take the risk. You cannot wait until you are sure that something is safe, worth the redundancy, because you will be waiting indefinitely. There are times to take risks and there are times to wait. And it depends on you, your character, what you want in life and, as I said before, your priorities. Probably you would not make the same decision with 20 years old and single, with 37 and with two children or with 65 retired. It is normal.
How to decide then?
Analyze your current situation, your options and what is really important to you right now and choose. Sometimes you can combine various things, sometimes not. You have to choose, this is life, are you willing to accept the sacrifice that comes with what you want? Or maybe what you want you don't want so much…
It doesn't matter, it's your life and it's your decision.
