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If you are to be successful in any area of your life it will require sacrifice. Glory demands it.
Any legendary sportsman or woman will amplify my message. The greatest musicians that have walked the planet will have sacrificed many hours and leisure activities to perfect their craft, the actors that are watched by millions and paid a fortune all leave behind certain luxuries in life to be the best and billionaire business owners exchange social activities for money making meetings.
The further you climb, the more it requires.
If you are frustrated at the amount of success that currently consumes your life then it is well worth pondering what sacrifices you are or would be willing to make. If you want to lose the belly that has been the highlighted reason for your lack of confidence and energy then are you willing to give up Netflix in exchange for the gym?
Mental and physical health are prime examples of where progress is simple to achieve. Do not spend hours debating why you eat certain foods when you know you should not. We as humans are very complex, you may never find the answer. A more direct route would be to identify the guilty culprits and exchange them for something that does not stop you from achieving what you ask for. If your mental health can simply be improved by walking each day in the fresh air instead of playing the Playstation why are you not doing it?
The answers will be found in your actions, as they will indicate what your priorities are. We have no right to expect entitlement. You cannot expect gold if you are not prepared to dig for it. That attitude is dangerous and can leave you feeling bitter and angry. If you are not complaining and show strong signs of content then you do not need to concern yourself with sacrifice. If however, you are wanting change, then something has to give. You can polish it, shine it up and gift wrap it but you cannot avoid this no matter how much you would like it to be different.
Improved health comes with compromise, the pay rise at work comes with more responsibility and being a good parent pushes sacrifice to the limit. Discipline and sacrifice are close friends. Discipline is needed if you are to get the things you want in life. A lack of discipline has consequences, and the older you become the more severe these lessons becomes. This is why children with no rules or boundaries often end up in troublesome situations, because there has been no prior consequences to their actions. They are used to having what they want and when they want it.
If you continually neglect your health you will more than likely pay for it. If you allow your mental health to suffer because you are not paying attention to what you need then it will catch up with you. There is nowhere to hide.
Sacrifice is healthy. It will bring new and refreshing things into your life. No longer should you view it as a painstaking task, and although it will bring challenge and temptation, the end results will have the last word.
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This post was previously published on www.mansplan.co.uk and is republished here with permission from the author.
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Photo credit: Istockphoto.com