There is a phrase that has been guiding me for some time now:
If I don't have the body I want, I can't get mad because I didn't eat and exercise to produce that result yet. If I haven't reached a financial goal, I can't get mad because I haven't taken the necessary actions yet to produce it.
There was a time in my life I would sit and drink alcohol by myself in a room and pitty myself because I wasn't accomplishing X or Y. I would point fingers at this person in my life or this circumstance.
The funny thing is, I thought my situations was an exception to the rule. EVERYONE THINKS THEIR SITUATION IS THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. But it's not. Not for me and not for you. I knew I shouldn't blame others. I understood this at a certain level.
I acted as if I was running a marathon and they were a weight on my shoulders I had to carry.
The truth is, that's just BS. I decide who I let in my life and who I carry. I decide if I am achieving a goal or not.
But I have to be willing to pay the price for the prize. And the bigger the prize, the bigger the price.
I, like most people, want the prize without Having to give up too much.
But that's just not possible. Sacrifice is part of the game. Sacrifice is part of what makes the victories so sweet.
In solidarity with my wife being pregnant, I gave up drinking alcohol for her entire pregnancy. It was hard at first. But it just showed me that I had an unnecessary dependence on something that I am better than. Giving up drinking has been great.
I don't ever think I had a problem with drinking, but I think I could have been on that road. Proving to myself that I can give something up to get a greater cosmic prize has been personally rewarding.
There are many more goals I want to achieve and I'm at a point where sacrifice no longer scares me as bad as it once did. It still scares me. But not as much.
If I want a great life, I have to make great choices. If anyone wants to be great they have to be willing to do what most people won't, so they can have what most people don't.
The results come from the proper actions and the proper timing. If you don't have the results you want, don't blame others, don't beat yourself up, don't numb yourself. Just get back to work. Do the work, if it doesn't work. Change your approach. If that doesn't work, wait your turn. But take control of YOUR life.
Be great. There are no strong people with weak pasts.
