I was at the gym on Saturday morning, and there was a guy working
in the squat rack next to me with a shirt that said something about sacrifice and
success. There may have been something about sweat in there too, I don’t remember.
But I do remember thinking about the fact that I know moms who are literally
half this guy’s size who squat more than he was, so I wasn’t too enamored with the
“tough guy” motivational quote on his shirt. But as I continued through my workout,
I was distracted by the stench of cigarettes emanating off the same guy. I
thought back to the “sacrifice” message on his shirt and wondered, what exactly
is it he thinks he’s sacrificing? His lungs? His health? His future? The irony
of it all got me thinking, what am I sacrificing?
You see, everything is a sacrifice. If I eat an entire cheesecake,
I am making a sacrifice. I am sacrificing my poor pancreas, GI comfort and
possibly the respect of the of the other guests at the dinner party (unless, of
course, I just eat the cheesecake in the peace and quiet of my closet – but that
brings up a whole host of other issues.) If I sleep in for an hour, I am also
making a sacrifice. I am sacrificing positive momentum for my morning, probably
my workout and the opportunity to start the day off with a win. Neither of
these sacrifices are noble or honorable and I wouldn’t expect anyone to be
impressed with those decisions (except maybe the former, I mean, an entire
cheesecake in one sitting … that has got to be worth something! I’ll bet Jim Gaffigan
would be impressed.) Regardless, a sacrifice has been made.
Contrary to the message on Marlboro Man’s shirt at the gym,
sacrifice doesn’t automatically equate to success and positive results. Just
like purchasing an item at the store, sacrifice is simply a transaction. Sacrifice
must be measured and calculated to ensure we are making the right sacrifice.
Test your sacrifice to ensure that what you are gaining is worth the price of
what you give up.
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