What I’m Willing To Sacrifice To Get Ahead

“You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.” – Gordon B. Hinckley.

I’ve always been fascinated by what people are willing to sacrifice, or not sacrifice, in order to get ahead in life. I’ve come across many people who have big dreams and big goals, but don’t necessarily have the stomach to do what it takes.

There are certain things which I’m absolutely not willing to sacrifice and those include my health, happiness, peace, family (and a handful of close friends I consider to be family), my values and morals. However, there are a few things which I am willing to sacrifice in order to achieve my goals and dreams.

There’s no right or wrong decision when it comes to making sacrifices. Some things are more important to some than to others. I’m simply sharing some of the things I’m willing to give up.

1. WEEKENDS

I give up one day of my weekend to work on Boss in Heels as well as other side projects. There are so many other things I could fill up my Saturday with outside of work – brunches with friends, a day at the beach, time at home to chill and relax. No matter how tired I am, I get up on a Saturday morning, train at the gym at 7am, and then come home and get stuck into work. I’m willing to say ‘no’ to these other, somewhat more appealing options, but I don’t. This is my routine and the commitment I’ve made to myself.

I do equally believe in rest and taking some time to recharge the batteries. For this reason, Sundays are my day off. I really make a conscious effort to switch off from work. I use Sundays to simply be in the moment, spend time with people I love and do things that feed my soul.

2. SLEEPING IN

Other than Sundays, I rarely ever sleep in. My days are so much more productive when I rise early to meditate, work out and get stuck into my work. By creating an early morning routine, I find that I use my time in the mornings so much more productively. This is the time I use to work on my body and my mind. I also spend this time working on my personal projects and my blog, before I start my official work day.

You can read more about my morning routine, what time I wake up and how I use this time here.

3. SOCIAL EVENTS

I say no to a lot of social events, and this is something I’ve become much better at saying no to. The reason I say no to social events is because it takes time away from me and my work. If the event is on a weeknight, it also impacts my morning routine the next day and has a knock-on effect.

I am extremely disciplined with how I spend my time and what events I commit to. One thing I’ve heard Tim Ferriss talk about is “every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else.” This has really stuck with me, and I often consider it when making decisions.

4. NETFLIX

I know that Netflix is a way that some people like to wind down after a long day at work. It takes a lot of discipline to say no to Netflix when you come home tired and hungry and you just want to relax. There’s a layer of discipline I’ve added to my evenings and that is to work on my side hustle when I get home from work. I’ll admit, there are days where I work really long hours and really don’t want to come home and continue to work. But for the most part, I’m able to switch into higher gear and keep working in the evenings. If you want to start a side-hustle, this is something you may need to do.

5. STABILITY

Stability is something which I’ve had to give up for the past 5 years of my life. It would be really nice to know exactly how the next year looks for me, where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing, but that’s something I’ve had to sacrifice in the short term. When you are in an equal partnership and both of you are working hard to achieve certain goals and dreams, there are many sacrifices that have to be made a long the way. Stability has been one of those things.

SACRIFICES TO GET AHEAD

What are some of the sacrifices you’re willing to make to get ahead? I would love to hear your thoughts, please leave your comments below!