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What are you willing to give up?

What are you willing to give up in order to get something you’ve never had? That is one of the greatest questions I have ever heard. I have no recollection of where I came across it and when I tried to look it up to give the rightful creator credit I wasn’t able to find the original source. I liked it when I first heard it several years ago, but it has become even more meaningful and important to me since then. I say it to myself at least once a week, and often more frequently. It is New Year resolution time, the time when people are committing to fresh starts and are renewing goals and so it is a very fitting time to talk about the application of this quote.

Change is hard. Giving up comfort for the unknown is not easy. But most of the time we will have to give something up in order to get where we want to go. I use this quote frequently at work.

When we have ideas for new programs I remind the board that we will have to give something up in order to make room for the new. Like when we eliminated our Business after Hours program. The program wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great. We needed to shed the program so we could make room for something even more valuable for our members.

We could take the resources of time and money from the not-so-valuable Business after Hours program and put it into something that would bring even greater results. It is like a rose bush. If you clip off the buds that aren’t growing well, you allow the better ones to be even better because more nutrients go to the strong buds instead of the weaker ones.

I refer to this quote often in my personal life as well. They may not be huge sacrifices. I may give up watching a movie for the third or sixth time (because who can watch Dirty Dancing or Burlesque just once?) in order to put together a clean eating grocery list. Or I might avoid eating out for a while so I can use that money to buy something of more value instead. I literally say (usually out loud) to myself that I need to skip something if I want something else that is better later on. I need to skip the movie and the lunch out in order to feel healthier with more energy and take a fun weekend trip with the saved money.

Let’s look at a few examples of what this could look like in your life.

Are you trying to lose weight or become healthier? In order to do that, what are you willing to give up? Junk food? Soda? Television time in exchange for workout time? To get the healthier self that you are looking for, you are going to have to give something up.

Do you want a better or renewed relationship with family or a friend? You might need to give up some hard feelings, a little bit of pride, or a grudge you have been keeping. Or maybe it’s about making time to call that person or visit with him or her. You may need to give up something else that is of less value but that you are hanging on to because it is comfortable or easier.

Do you want a different career? What do you need to do to get it? If you need time to send in resumes then you will have to sacrifice time you were spending on something else. If you need additional training then you might need to sacrifice money you would have spent on something else in order to pay for the training.

These are all risky and vulnerable moves. Giving something up doesn’t guarantee what you are seeking will end with a positive outcome. But doing more of the same will certainly not bring you what you are seeking. You have to be willing to give something up in order to make room for something of even greater value.

For me this quote works in such a way that it reframes my thoughts. Instead of being sad about losing something that I might still find value in or that I have become comfortable with, it allows me to change my attitude to one of excitement for the possibility of what might be. Are you hanging on to something that you should give up in order to get something you want? Maybe it is time to give it up and make room in your life for something else, something greater, to make its way in.

Jackie Krawczak is president/CEO of the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce. Her column runs bi-weekly on Thursdays. Follow Jackie on Twitter @jkrawczak.

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