Self Help

Knowing what you want out of life is critical, but it’s not enough to make your dreams come true. As you know, just because you long for something or even have a dying passion for that one thing does not mean you will automatically obtain it. When it comes to fulfilling your dreams there is always a price you must pay.

While there are a great many folks who think they know what they want, many are unwilling to apply even the smallest amount of effort to obtain their goals.

For years our country has become a culture of “quick fix.” Words like sacrifice, diligence, and honor no longer matter and have been replaced with I want it all and I want it now! Relationships flourish and dissolve faster than paint can dry. Some see that flashy sports car and they want it. They cannot afford it but it doesn’t matter, for they have to have it now! With a quick scribble on a check, the car they have been dreaming of for ten minutes is suddenly theirs. But when the payment comes due, suddenly that thing they wanted isn’t all that appealing as it was a few months ago.

Emotions become involved, egos get bruised, and it’s always the other guy’s fault when the car is repossessed. It is the same in the job market. With only a few weeks of experience under their belts, some people tell others how the task should be performed, that they don’t have to do such and such, and are the first to complain about every single thing, while the entire time they barely apply themselves to the job; and yet they are the ones who become extremely agitated when they are not promoted to a management position after being with the company for an earth-shattering six weeks.

Another approach society has is: if things don’t turn out, we can always sue. In this day and age we can file lawsuits for mental duress, loss of sleep, coffee being too hot or too cold, and even air turbulence when flying. Years ago there was a story where a prison inmate sued the state because the mattress hurt his back, and another inmate sued because he slipped and fell on the wet floor. And when folks complain how justice is slower than a snail, part of the reason for that is today’s courts spend a great deal of time tied up in frivolous lawsuits.

So the moral of this article is to remind you that there is always a price to pay in getting what you want out of life. Yes, you can have anything you put your mind to, but be realistic and understand what having that “thing” is going to cost you in the future.