Transaction of Sacrifice

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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