Who are You Doing It For?

We all hear about how making changes involves giving up something or making sacrifices of some type. If we want to lose weight we have to “give up” some of our favorite foods. If we want to start a business, we have to give up financial security and the list goes on.

But what if it wasn’t so much about giving up something as it was about your attitude? Is the change you want to make really about sacrifice or is it more about improving your life? The bottom line is, for any change to be successful; you really have to do it for you.

One of the best examples of this principal is losing weight. No matter how many doctors tell you to lose weight, no matter what your spouse thinks, or friends, or anyone else, you cannot lose weight successfully and keep it off until you do it for you.

Is the food you have to give up to lose that weight really a sacrifice? Is it really a sacrifice to give up the food that is destroying your body, causing you physical problems, interfering with your self esteem really a sacrifice? It is only a sacrifice if we look at it that way.

If we don’t make those changes aren’t we sacrificing a great deal more? Perhaps shortening our lives? Maybe we are missing out on activities because our weight prevents us from participating (now that’s sacrifice!).

The same is true of starting a new business. No matter what financial situation you are in currently, no matter how many people tell you it is a good (or bad) idea, if you don’t start a business that is something for you, you will most likely fail (or at least never reach the highest level of success possible).

Working a business is a labor of love. It is really all about you and what you want. Even if you are in it for the money, you are still in it for you. If you are not in it for you, the work will soon become tedious and boring. You will dread getting up to work your business.

Is it really such a sacrifice to work a new business? Is it so difficult to learn something new; to try something different? To expand your mind and do something that could ultimately take you places you never even thought possible?

Whether it is your work or your life, the changes you make have to be based on something for you. Your attitude has to be that it is something for you and you have to never lose sight of that fact.

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. Aldous Huxley