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Life Is Full of Little Trade Offs


I awakened at 4 am with a pounding headache.  I took some aspirin, rubbed my neck, took a hot shower, and tried to go back to sleep.  The pain wasn't gone, but in one position it was lessened enough to let me sleep.  The only problem was when my head hurt less my neck hurt more. 

As often happens at times when I cannot get comfortable, I remembered something a friend of mine used to always say, "Life is full of little trade offs."   I tried to shun the thought because I want to believe that I don't have to make trade offs, that I can have everything I want. 

For some reason I have always equated the idea of trade offs in my life with having to give something up – like I can be happy or I can be rich.  Suddenly I saw it in a new way.  Everything in front of me at any given time is not perfect and even if it was, I cannot do or have it all at once.  That is simply a fact. 

That means it is not a trade off; it is a choice.  And the choices are small and constant.  Life is a stream of opportunities to make choices.  In any given moment I can choose what matters most to me at that time and let the rest go until later. 

And key for me is remembering that making one choice doesn't mean I can never make another.  I can change my mind, my priorities, and my choices at any time, and all the time.  So, thank you John K for saying "Life is full of little trade offs", so many times that it has stuck in my brain all these years.  I must have always known that it was true but until this morning I didn't get how it applies to my belief system. 

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Comments

  1. AT CoffeyDecember 29, 2013 at 12:06 PM

    Making little trade offs, is how we all get through life. Good blog post. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dennis TardanDecember 30, 2013 at 12:37 PM

    Great post, Melissa. I love that idea that it is merely a choice and that I can choose again.

    ReplyDelete

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