The burden we embrace.
We all know that the choices we make dictate the outcomes in our life. I think a common misconception is that if you make the right choices consistently, life will be easier. I don’t necessarily agree with this. The difficulty that life brings is inevitable, but we do get to choose what burden we embrace.
This quote has been plastered all over social media and blog posts lately.
Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard.
Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard.
Being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard.
Communication is hard. Not communicating is hard. Choose your hard.
The message here is that life is hard, but at the end of the day, in many instances, you get to choose the burden you embrace. I say this with a grain of salt. Sometimes situations are beyond our control and we have to come to terms with the fact that it’s not going to go the way we would have chosen if given a true choice. It could be an unexpected illness, the loss of a loved one, or financial difficulty. Sometimes you face an uphill battle both ways. In these instances, the only option is to be as resilient as you can possibly be.
For the decisions we do have control over, I look at those as the start of a race. You step up to the starting line with two choices.
Your first choice is to start on the path that descends downhill. This choice is quicker and more convenient. Inevitably you will end up at the bottom and will be forced to make the steep climb back up to finish the race.
Your second choice is to start on the path that leads directly uphill. This choice takes a lot longer at the beginning and is more burdensome. Inevitably you will get to the top and can cruise downhill to finish the race. The path of least resistance will rarely lead to the best result.
So there is one question we must all ask ourselves with every decision we make. Do I want to embrace the uphill climb from the beginning? I can relate to this on multiple levels because I chose the path of least resistance for most of my life. I decided to head downhill at the starting line with many of my decisions. I would then get angry when I realized I had an uphill climb to finish the race and get to my desired endpoint. This was evident in my health, my relationships, and my habits. For many of us, we see that uphill climb and give up. We decide the burden is not worth it and we never truly accomplish what we set out to do. Many times we don’t start at all.
