“The most important decision about your goals is not what you’re willing to do to achieve them, but what you are willing to give up.” Dave Ramsey
What’s one of the biggest dreams you have? Have you ever took the time to think about the amount of work and sacrifice you have to put in, in order to accomplish those dreams? The beautiful things about dreaming is that it gives us the opportunity envision a greater future, without costing us anything; but while the dream is free the price to obtaining that dream comes through hard work and sacrifice.
Think about a time where you sacrificed something temporarily so that you can have something better in the future. When you look back was the sacrifice worth it? I often hear two opinions when it comes to the sacrifice required to obtaining our dreams. The first thing I hear is that the sacrifice is not worth it because it makes you miss out on being and living in the moment. The second opinion I hear is that the sacrifice is worth it because it’s only temporary and what you gain through it can create a better future.
“Great success requires greater sacrifice.” Sachin Prabhu
Without a doubt I know that anything worth having will not come easy and that it will require both hard work and sacrifice. The question I often ask when determining if the sacrifice to obtaining our dreams is worth it is , “Why not have both?” Why shouldn’t we be able to live in the moment and make sacrifices when needed? It’s really possible to have both but we can only maintain it through being intentional.
The word intentional means done on purpose; delibrate. In order to live in the moment and be able to sacrifice it requires us to do everything on purpose. When there is purpose in the things that we do everyday it keeps us from wasting time on things that don’t matter.
So how do we maintain the blance of living in moment and sacrificing:
1. Plan things out
In order to live each day with intention and purpose we have to plan. Our lack of planning can cause us to experience a lot of frustration. Sacrificing something that’s important to you is not easy and when that’s matched with a lack of order it can make life feel catiotic and make our dream seem impossible. When we take time to be intentional and think things through and we know where our time is going and where we need to be at certain times it helps things to flow smoothly and it maximizes our time to live in the moment and work towards our dream.
2. Focus
Focus is so important because, “where focus goes energy flows.” When we try to do to many things at one time it makes it hard to focus and really give the appropriate amount of attention to the needed task. As we take time to plan thing out we can focus on accomplishing the required task. If I planned time in my schedule to workout then my focus and attention should be on working out. If I planned time to spend with my kids at the park, I should be able to focus and give my kids the full attention so that I can be present in the moment. In this day and age it’s so easy to get distracted by the phone or social media that it’s sometimes takes away from us living in the moment, but if I plan times for those things during the day it would help me to stay focus and accomplish my intended goal.
3. Be determined to finish
The sacrifice and work required to reaching our dream won’t be easy. There will be times were we want to give up and where we question if what we are doing is really even worth the sacrifice. Through it all we have to be determined to keep going no matter what things may look like in the natural. One day when we reach our goal we will be able to looking back and see that the sacrifice was all worth it.
I want to encourage you to keep working hard and going after your dreams. Be intentional about staying on track with the things that matter most to you. It’s possible to live in the moment and work towards your goals. It may not be easy and you will have to fight harder to focus but one day all the work you are putting in will be worth it.
“You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.” Lionel Messi
Thanks so much for reading!
check out my Motivated Monday Video on YouTube: Intentional Hope
Intentional Hope 