Pam’s Day 64 – Giving up the good

Most of us live a life of pretty good.  Its not what we thought it would be when we were in junior high.  Not what we thought in high school.  College shaped what life would yield, hopefully in a positive way but for most folks not.  Getting out in the real world shapes and redefines and has us changing (downsizing?) our definition of living the life.

“This isn’t what I thought life would look like but its pretty good.”

Over time we trim off those bits of hopes and dreams that we really, really wanted or thought life would have for us to make what we do have fit within our reality.  To be happy we take what was just good before reality hit and reshape it so that it now looks great.  Its a solid coping mechanism.  Knowing that we’ve done that adjustment is what niggles in our minds and bothers those of us who are still dreamers.

When Matt was hating life in the corporate world because he knew there was more and where he was at was never going to get him to great I pleaded with him settle.  I was paying the bills and we were a one income family.  I NEEDED him to forget that there was more out there and that’s what a tried to talk him into.  ”Everyone else is coming in and just doing the minimum for the paycheck and benefits.  Can’t you please?!”

How horrible!!  How seriously messed up!  To ask a man to be less than himself for that little bit of supposed security.  It wasn’t real security.  There is no such thing.  And it was done out of fear on my part.  (Anyone who says living on a single income and staying home with kids is a luxury has never done it and they’re talking out of ignorance.)  When he lost that secure job we had the choice to go back into that world or forge our own path.  We took the less traveled road, left behind the good and went for great.  While our original thought didn’t turn out to be the great we were shooting for we have modified our course and are truly on the road to great.

I know its scary to give up good but its so worth it.  You have to commit to going after great because it doesn’t come easy and its scary a lot of the time on the road to getting there.  That’s cool because it wouldn’t be great if anybody could have it with little effort or sacrifice.

Go for the GREAT!!