Sacrifice. I know some of my readers have the wildest of imaginations (no need to call names when they know themselves), but I do not imply some ancient civilizations practices of blood, human or animal sacrifices to some mystical entity.
I’m talking about the giving up of something of value in order to get something of even bigger value. From my experiences, and from the general laws that govern life, something must be lost to gain something.
When hot water is poured into a cup half-full of cold water, an exchange occurs. The cold water loses some of its cold to the hot water, and the hot water loses some of its heat to the cold water. This is necessary to have an even, slightly hot cup of tea. In the same way, we all have to make sacrifices of some possessions, either in material or immaterial form, to get what we want.
Sometimes, to get academic success, we sacrifice our time, our sleep at night, our money and many other resources.
To make money, you sometimes have to sacrifice money. Even on a seemingly ‘free’ site like Read.Cash, you sacrifice your time, your muscles (if you spend a considerable amount of time at your laptop) and some other possessions.
Sometimes, in the journey to achieving a goal, we need to devote focus. We sacrifice relationships (I have experiences with this). These can be painful, but in the end, sometimes we view it with wiser mentalities and more matured eyes and see that it was necessary. Sometimes.
To keep a relationship going, to get married - all these require the sacrifice of time, money and similar resources and at times, a sacrifice of one’s own happiness, all without which the relationship might cease to exist.
There is no law that states that you are mandated to make these sacrifices, but if you’re really sure you want to achieve these goals, it is necessary to make these sacrifices. Note that from this last statement, I leave you to decide just how important that need is to you, and whether you can afford the cost.
Like I’ve always said, Life doesn’t give a damn about you, and does not care for your goals, needs, ambitions and aspirations. In order to have that ‘Happily Ever After’ ending you want, you will have to give something up. It is called an exchange, and it maintains balance in this world.
That said, what is important is for you to set your priorities straight. Sacrifices can eventually turn out to be wastes of resources when they are no planned out right. And don’t go telling yourself that “it’s a small risk, it’s a small loss” – there is no such thing as a small loss. That resource if channeled into a better venture could have proved more profitable – extra hours of sleep would have made you healthier, that money could have been used for a better investment, and your heart may not have been broken in shatters if you didn’t sacrifice your happiness to be with the wrong person.
It is really up to you to decide – put the risks and rewards on a scale and make sure the risk does not outweigh the reward. Whenever you want to do something, do it wholeheartedly, and not because someone has great expectations of you. Do it for you, so that whichever way it goes, you know you weren’t coerced.
Know what’s at stake, and make the right decisions that you can take absolute responsibility for, No matter the reason for doing something – it is your sacrifice and whichever way it goes, you’re celebrating the results or bearing the consequences.
Like I always say, avoid regret!
Sacrifice. Not a simple word, not a simple act