The Priceless Cost Of Doing Things That You Don’t Want To

“I don’t want to.”

Our mind, heart, and bodies tell us this.

Then our mind takes over, changes its mind, and says “yes”.

Even though we don’t want to.  Leaving our hearts and bodies in shambles.  Like slaves being forced to obey commands that they don’t want to do.

I’m not talking about discipline.

I’m talking about doing things that you don’t want to do, because you don’t see it as a part of you.

As something important to you.  Or for people who are important for you.

Sacrifice is overglorified, trusting yourself, diminished.

What’s the priceless cost of doing things that you don’t want to do?

 

If it’s a sacrifice, you’ve already lost.

Because you don’t want to do it, but you’re doing it anyway.

Instead of a sacrifice, think of it as an investment.  You’re putting energy, time, and resources into building something, whether it’s a skill, result, or a state of being.

But sacrifice?  It’s the mindset of giving up energy, time, and resources, in doing you don’t want, to hopefully get what you want.

But we don’t know any better.  Sacrifice is how we’ve been raised, taught, and fed on.  It’s all that we’ve ever heard.

And we’re setting ourselves up for failure and disappointment.

Because what if what we’ve sacrificed so hard and long for, is something we didn’t get?  Or we fail to achieve it?

Then does that mean all the sacrifice is wasted?

Maybe not, but inside, emotionally, we feel more wasted and desolate, as compared to looking at the whole situation with an investment mindset.

Sacrifice means you’re only looking at the short term.

Investment means you’re working for the long term.

You can only sacrifice so much of yourself, and of what you’ve got.

You’ve got to build yourself up, not cut yourself down, shaving parts of your soul and dreams.

What does it cost to sacrifice?  To do what you don’t want to do?

 

Time

Everybody says time is precious, and yet, why do we spend it here and there like we’re billionaires?

I just spent the morning watching youtube videos, wallowing in my fear, numbness, doing what I said I’d do, because I thought I was sacrificing for my future.

It left me with resentment, tiredness, and lost time.  I didn’t want to do it anyway, and I didn’t honor myself by being honest enough with myself.

I wasted time.  And the only moment I’m going to feel the pain and regret of that decision, is when I’m falling short of my expectations and dreams, and regretting not having spent my time better.

Remember, time is a weird thing to have and to use.

Just sitting here, means using it up.

You can’t have more of it, you can’t transfer it, and you can’t exchange it for money over a counter.

So if you’re spending time doing something you don’t want to do, then what for?

You’ll never get the time back.

 

Energy

It’s not only the time that we spend that we have to manage.

It’s one thing to manage the time and tasks that we have on a daily basis, but what we should really be looking out for, is how we manage and spend our energy.

You can be stuck in a situation not of your doing and control, and that’s already a time commitment there, but how you manage the situation, and the energy you spend, is totally still within your control.

You can choose to go all out during the day at work, but when you come home, your family sees you tired, lifeless, and receive the worst version of you.

Especially when you’re doing stuff you don’t want to do, and don’t see as important to you and your loved ones.

Where I live now, people spend 2 hours just getting to work, bust their asses, take another 2 hours getting back to work, and crash in their homes, with no energy left for their families.

No energy left to go after their hopes and dreams.

And that’s assuming that they’re doing work not aligned to that.

You only have so much energy in a day, and even if you increase your capacity, you’ll still have to choose which activities to focus and spend your energy on.

 

Resources

If there’s time and energy, the there are the other resources you expend to do things, that you both want and don’t want to do.

There are many material resources at our disposal, but one clearly stands out above the rest – money.

It can get us almost anything that we want, provided that we have enough of it, and if we learn how, we create more of it, capture its flow, keep it, and grow it.

Put it in the right perspective – as a means to an end, and not an end in and of itself.

See, where we put our money, our resources, and all the other costs we spend, is where we put our values and priorities.

Are you spending your money on what you value the most?

Or are you saying one thing, and doing another?

Find alignment there.  Find alignment first within your body, heart, and mind, and the will to align your environment and resources will follow.

 

Opportunities

Because if you’re spending your time and resources doing one thing, then you’re giving up the opportunity to do another thing.

There is an opportunity cost to doing anything, to committing to anything, and even to doing nothing!

Each choice has consequences, and each choice closes the doors to other choices.

So are you making the choices that you want?  That will lead to what you want?

Or are you doing things you don’t want?

What makes you spend your life that way?

And is the answer to the aforementioned question, life-shatteringly important and meaningful enough?

Is it a “HELL YES!”?

 

Love yourself

It’s all about the choices that you make, and the cost of making those choices.

At the end of the day, it’s about how much you love yourself enough to make the choices that you want, and that ring true in your heart.

Ringing true in your heart.

What rings true in you heart.

 

What have you sacrificed to do things you don’t want?  Please share in the comments and let me know!