Sacrifices!

I have three children, and they receive R20.00 pocket money per day, for which they each have to do chores. As you might imagine, this is sometimes a contentious issue in our home and family. Our kids give us all the reasons why it’s unfair that they have to do their chores before receiving their pocket money: their friends get pocket money - actually more than they do and they don’t have to do chores, they have to sacrifice some of their time during the day to do their chores, their chores are boring (who wants or needs to do chores anyway ;o) etc. etc.

We also have someone who comes in and cleans and does the ironing twice a week, which means they receive their pocket money anyway, and basically get two days off. As a compromise, since they find their chores such a ‘chore’ - my hubby and I proposed that we have someone come in five times a week, allowing them five free days and only two days of chores and pocket money!

Well, when they considered their choices, they readily agreed that the current situation was more acceptable and willingly agreed to do their chores and continue with the current pocket money arrangement.

You see, once they realised how little they actually do, and how much they get paid per week - looking at things from a different perspective, they were able to see that the sacrifice of time they made to do their chores was more acceptable then to sacrifice their pocket money.

When you want to make changes to yourself or your life-style to realise an ideal or reach a desired outcome, it usually means you need to make some sort of sacrifices, sometimes on a daily basis, sometimes weekly or monthly. These sacrifices are usually the reason you are where you are in the first place, and so are the most difficult changes to make.

Realising your ideal weight or body shape, means you need to sacrifice some of the things you really enjoy - maybe it’s having a salad for lunch instead of a doughnut, or having an apple as a mid morning snack instead of a chocolate bar or even drinking extra glasses of water or fresh fruit juice instead of a cup of coffee or tea. These small changes will make a difference to your outcome and it does mean making those sacrifices for the ultimate ideal. Focusing on the sacrifices you make will leave you feeling deprived and discontented - however focusing on the reasons why you are making these changes, looking at things from a different perspective allows you to continue through the process and reach your desired outcome.

Making small changes, little sacrifices will boost your confidence as you realise certain benefits allowing you to make even greater sacrifices. Making too many changes too quickly, will definitely make you feel like you are sacrificing your daily enjoyment of life, and a feeling of ‘what the hell... it isn’t making that much difference anyway’ and so you resort to your old patterns and behaviour. You need to look at the ultimate benefits in comparison to the sacrifices you are making, without sacrificing your daily enjoyment of life, to continue through the process of changing patterns and behaviour to a more healthier and beneficial life-style!

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