12 Jan 2022 WILL BE WHAT YOU MAKE IT!!!
I recently uploaded a video titled ‘A year of sacrifice can make ALL the difference’ (check it out here). Oftentimes when people are stuck, whether it be their finances, career, relationships etc, the answer is often there and we know it but our love for comfort and what we’re used to keeps us in the same position we hate.
Every year, we set goals to get out of debt, manage our money better, finally lose the weight, work on our relationships etc and yet come June, we have already written off the year because of life’s challenges.
I read a book once (still one of my favourite), called The Road Less Travelled by M Scott Peck. He opens his first chapter by saying “Life is difficult”. I must admit I wouldn’t have the guts to start my book like this! Lol
He continues to say “..Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom”.
So what am I getting at?
Oftentimes we know what we need to do to get unstuck (finances, relationships, weight) and yet we try to look for answers outside of ourselves. For example, if you are unhappy with your weight, you know the key is eating healthy and exercising, but we get stuck in our (bad) habit loop and never reach our goals.
When hubby and I first got married, we knew we wanted to have a house of our own, we were renting at the time and I knew that to fast-track our goal, we had to do something drastic. We moved back with his dad and saved a ton of money in that year. We paid a big deposit and saved for all the closing costs.
When we finally moved in, for another couple of months we did not buy new furniture, we had to make do with what we had at the time, we saved up and then bought what we desired.
This not only helped us save money, but it also taught me some valuable life lessons:
- When making a decision about your future, you do not have to consult everyone
- You can make tough decisions and survive, actually, thrive afterwards
- You will not die from making tough decisions
- Don’t give a butt what people think, you know what is best for your future.
(You don’t have to do what we did, your situation might be different – but deep down, you know what you should do to solve it)
Why am I telling you this?
A year of sacrifice can make ALL the difference. For every goal you want to achieve, you will have to make sacrifices. You will have to make a decision that you are done being in debt, done being overweight, done with bad relationships. We often focus on the pain we will feel in that 1 year of sacrifice vs thinking about how that one year will set you up for a lifetime of comfort!!!!
I want you to change your view of the word ‘sacrifice’ – instead of thinking about it as something painful, think about this definition:
“surrender of something for the sake of something else (better)”.
Although our goals are different from when we got married, I know there are sacrifices to be made still. For example, one of our goals this year is to increase our net worth by 35%, it will NOT happen magically or through wishing. It is going to take commitment, foregoing some things, and work. And boy, am I willing to give it my all!
Will you give your goals your all this year? Will you surrender you old habits for new (better) ones?
Wishing you a very happy 2022,
Mapalo
Khotso. Pula. Nala.