Read this quote by Eric Hoffer and see if you agree with him: “People will cling to an unsatisfactory way of life, rather than change in order to get something better, for fear of getting something worse.” Agree or Disagree. I know this to be true in my business because I witness it all the time. “F-E-A-R” is simply this “False Evidence Appearing Real.” We imagine fears, anxiety, and nonsense because we are afraid of stepping out in faith to something different.
Every day we all make “trade-offs” in our lives. I bet you have already made a couple of trade-offs today. One of my mentors once told me: “You have to give-up to go-up.” Think back over your life and examine a time when you actually did this. I bet most of you found the giving up of something easy to get a bigger payoff.
Each day we are faced with intersections where we must make decisions on deciding left or right, up or down. You may have chosen to live out here in the “burbs” to have a better quality of life, and the trade-off was that horrible commute you are in coming home and going to work every single day. Perhaps you made a drastic trade-off by choosing one career over another so you could work in your area of passion. The trade-off was a big hit in your salary, but now you wake up excited to go to work instead of dreading it.
Trade-offs are also opportunities for growth in our lives. We don’t always get what we want, but we always get what we choose. I teach this in the form of using a “Y.” The straight part is where you are in life at the moment. The intersection of the two vertical pieces represents a yes choice and a no choice. However, there are many other factors which can be placed at the juncture. These represent all the other possible outcomes of your choice at any given time.
Denis Waitley is quoted as saying this, “A sign of wisdom and maturity is when a person comes to terms with the realization that their decisions cause both rewards and consequences.” In other words, all our choices have consequences. Some are good, and some are bad, but there is always a consequence.
I feel that it is never too late to change. Turn around and go the other way, you will be happy you did. When we first begin in life, we have little to give up when we decide to make a change. However, later in life and the higher you climb, the tougher the trade-offs will be.
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I willing to give up today’s gratification for tomorrow’s potential?
Am I willing to give up the “fast lane” for the good life?
Am I willing to give up security for significance?
Please email me with your questions, comments or suggestions at:
focusrubyhillliving@janicebastani.com.
In December 2017 we will discuss:
“Curiosity.”
