Personal Growth and Sacrifice
January 22, 2010 by J. Jones
Filed under Serious Business
I was chatting with a really close friend of mine recently and he asked me “where is so and so? And why is it that I never really see you with the same acquaintances for too long?” As I thought about his question, I immediately began to meander through the Rolodex of my memory to figure out why it is that I frequently disassociate myself from certain individuals.
Although I use to think that disconnecting myself from people was a character flaw – something I needed to work on, I continued to do it because the fact of the matter was that I never really missed them. In retrospect, as I sit here today looking at the journey of my life thus far, I know that I was doing exactly what I needed to do for my self growth. Life forced me to sacrifice plenty of acquaintances in order to get to the next level. Had I not followed my intuition and omitted certain individuals, I truly believe that I would still be stagnant and sitting exactly where they are.
In this journey called life, there are, and will always be people who you will simply have to leave behind or omit if you plan on succeeding; they are simply not equipped to be on your journey – it’s that simple. We are very much like those whom we closely associate ourselves with whether we recognize it or not. There was an old saying that summed it up best, “Tell me who your closest friends and I’ll tell you who you are” (or something like that.)
When you begin to take a look at the people in your life, you may discover that their mere presence has been impeding your progress, you must be prepared emotionally because it may very well be a best friend, sibling or other relative that has to go. This may be difficult, but if they are a hindrance in any manner, disassociating yourself is simply a formality that you “must” do if you are serious about getting to where you want to be. This doesn’t mean that you don’t still love them or that you shouldn’t keep in touch periodically to see how they are, it simply means that you have out grown them and therefore you must move on. Now, if you are planning on trying to “take” these people with you, then you may as well plan on being exactly where you are at today.
It is virtually impossible to grow beyond your current situation if you are surrounded with people who lack motivation, are under educated or have no desire to do anything other than live pay check to pay check, etc. They are more than happy to help you enjoy the fruits of your labor and mooch off of your hard work and good fortune. It is up to you to take advantage of any opportunity you may have to learn and develop. Don’t ever be satisfied with being “the big fish in a small pond.” Associate yourself with people who are at the level in which you are aiming to achieve. The harsh reality is that life will force you to make certain changes for your own benefit, and sometimes these choices will mean that someone closest to you may get left behind, but this form of sacrifice may be the key to your success!
Most people who enter your life are only meant to be there for a reason – their purpose is to teach you something. Some people will be there for a season – their purpose is to help you grow and expand your horizons. Very few people will be there for a lifetime – this form of friendship is the rarest to acquire, it’s meant to be cherished. The choice is yours, so choose wisely. Remember, you only have one life to live, so make every moment count!
-Juicy