What do you want?
That is a question I have been asking a lot recently.
I ask it because I believe we all get to want what we want and we should never stop wanting more.
More health, more peace, more love, more fun…
More happiness, more knowledge, more friends, more of what fills you up and makes the world a better place.
What do you want? Is a great beginning.
What are you willing to struggle for?
This is the real question, the question we’re not asking.
You can want all you like but how you approach the struggle will be what determines your success.
Take my son for example, as an eager basketballer he wants to be able to slam dunk. He recently read a story about a boy who taught himself to slam dunk in 6 months. This boy had dedicated himself to a strict, daily training regime for that entire 6 months.
“Are you willing to do the work, to practice every day, to jump and jump and jump until your legs hurt?” I asked him.
He lasted 2 days….
He still wants to slam dunk, he’s just not ready to do the work.
And so often this is the sticky spot, we want the reward and not the struggle.
We don’t want the pain, the discomfort, the unease, the commitment that is required to get what we want.
Think about it, everyone wants to have an honest, loving relationship but not everyone is willing to have the awkward conversations, the uncomfortable silences and the vulnerable openness to get there.
Instead they settle. Settle for less than.
We all want to be paid what we’re worth and yet many sit in easy, unsatisfying jobs they have long outgrown. Too afraid to ask for a challenge or a pay rise, even when they’ve earned one, or to ever consider changing jobs.
They don’t want to risk what they have and instead they settle. Settle for a brewing resentment that eventually eats away at their performance and worse, their joy.
Maybe you want to lose weight, live by the sea, start your own business or learn a new skill.
My question is… What are you willing to struggle through to have this?
That will be the difference between getting what you want and not.
You must be willing to commit to the struggle, to challenge yourself emotionally, mentally and even physically to suffer for what you want.
If it wasn’t going to be tough, I daresay you would have it already!
Truer words were never spoken, Karen. I have dropped the ball (pun intended) on losing weight, learning the piano, learning French and a long list of other things. No pain – no gain. I guess I haven’t fully accepted that truth. Thanks for the reminder and the gentle kick in the tail!