Dream Big, Sacrifice More: The Path to Personal Growth
What does it take to achieve your goals? My answer: pain and sacrifice.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had to put in work for everything you truly desire. I’ve never settled for small goals; I’ve always dreamed big. From a young age, my ambition was to achieve freedom or, at the very least, to feel a sense of freedom. I wanted to be the best in the world, and later, I aimed to live in a country where possibilities were limitless. All my goals were significant, demanding immense dedication and perseverance.
We all set goals, ranging from minor to monumental, each demanding a piece of ourselves in exchange for personal growth. The magnitude of the goal correlates with the level of sacrifice required. Essentially, throughout our efforts we trade our former selves for an upgraded version. Thus, understanding what it takes to achieve your goals involves assessing the scale of your dreams. It also involves determining the extent of personal investment needed.
Consider your greatest achievement and reflect on the journey it took to reach that point, whether it’s raising a child, graduating from college, or, like myself, becoming a world champion. What did you go through? How long did it take?
Such milestones require significant time and numerous sacrifices. Now, imagine your six-year-old son expressing a desire to become a world baseball champion after hitting a ball, you might smile and say, “Of course you do, my dear.” It’s cute. Yet, you also understand the immense commitment, hard work, and sacrifices required to even enter Major League Baseball. Luck is also a crucial factor.
This is the perspective you should adopt and the response you should provide when asked about your remarkable weight loss journey, or how you achieved a well-deserved raise. Working toward your goals should feel like going through hell; ordinary moments should be infused with a sense of extraordinary purpose. Talking about what it takes to reach such fate should feel like talking about a personal secret. “If they only knew…” should be the first thing that comes to your head when asked how did you do it?
As I mentioned, the size of a goal corresponds to the level of sacrifice. The bigger the transformation, the bigger the sacrifice. If you feel like you’re sacrificing a lot to pursue your goals, push yourself to sacrifice even more. When you’re dragging your feet, feeling as though you can’t continue, raise your spirits and start running. Push yourself and believe that there is more where it came from. The strength doesn’t come from you. It comes from the size of your goals.
Growing up entails shedding our former selves as we evolve into stronger, wiser individuals. Often, the adults we become aren’t exactly who we envisioned, and the gap between our ideal selves and our present selves widens with age. Consequently, the sacrifices required to reclaim our ideal selves may exceed what we’re initially willing to endure.
Take a deep breath and stop trying to see the whole road ahead. Focus on your breath and take one step at a time.
Thus, if you aspire to become the person you’re destined to be, each milestone achieved should feel like being reborn. The pain and sacrifices are directly proportional to the joy and rewards that accompany reaching new goals, as well as the benefits of personal growth.
In the journey towards our goals, we embark on a path paved with dedication, perseverance, and sacrifice. From the smallest victories to the grandest accomplishments, each step forward demands a piece of ourselves. Yet, it is through this exchange that we evolve, shedding our former selves to embrace the promise of our potential.
So, as you continue on your quest, remember to cherish the struggles, for they are the melting pot in which greatness is forged. With each milestone reached, allow yourself to feel the transformative power of your efforts, for in the end, it is through adversity that we truly find ourselves reborn, stronger and more resilient than ever before.