James Allen, author of the classic self-help book, “As a Man Thinketh”, said that there can be no progress without sacrifice and the secret to achieving success in any pursuit is not based on what is accomplished, but what is lost. While everyone wants to succeed, giving things up is not always easy.
Sacrifice is the loss of something in return for gain. Almost every goal we decide to achieve requires it. In fact, by definition “to decide”, which comes from the Latin meaning “to kill off”, requires some kind of sacrifice.
When two goals oppose, one’s got to go. You can’t smoke and quit at the same time. Unfortunately, most people have a hard time giving things up. They aren’t proactive when it comes to sacrifice and, rather than eliminating things that get in the way of achieving what they really want, they let life proceed on its own without prioritizing desired results.
Part of the skill of sacrifice involves simply saying “no”. Much like carving a beautiful sculpture requires eliminating a lot of clay, if you’re having a hard time accomplishing a goal or quitting a habit first identify your loss, then determine if your potential gain is worth that loss.
If you say “yes”, don’t look back. Live with the consequences of your choice, keep your eye on your goal and learn to repeatedly say goodbye and good riddance to whatever it is that you sacrificed
