Pick Your Hard

The world is full of paradoxes. It is not easy to choose between the opposites we find in everyday life, between the choices we are often faced with as life presents itself. But the important thing is that we generally do have a choice to make.

Here are a few to serve as an example:

·         Marriage is hard and so is Divorce.

·         Healthy living is hard but so is being overweight and sick.

·         Saving money is hard but so is being in debt.

·         Communicating your feelings is hard but so is remaining silent.

It is always hard to do the right thing, to search for TRUTH, to resist temptations, and to take the high road, but you have a choice. When you say ‘no’ to something you are, most likely, saying ‘yes’ to something else. We may, as humans, not be mindful of the long-term consequences of our actions but, none-the-less, they are part of the decisions we make.

But you have a choice!

These thoughts come from the on-line publication entitled SuccessMinded . The publication HubPages also lists 50 Provoking "Choose Your Hard" Quotes that are worth reviewing to stimulate additional thoughts on the subject. It is an interesting thought process to pursue.

Do you pause at all before you speak, responding to something or just getting your “2-cents” in the conversation? Do you collect facts, look at different sides, and try to see the other’s perspective? There is always more information to collect, data to analyze, or circumstances to consider.

I have written before about The Triangle of TRUTH and the book by Lisa Earle McLeod of the same name. It is more than a problem-solving model or business tool; it is also a templet for personal growth and decision making. She contends that the best answers come from combined points of view. They are more than either-or, sometimes they are “and” solutions.

The paradoxes presented above just seem too logical to think that the answers might be found somewhere in-between. The TRUTH is that there is evil and sin in the world, and there will always be a “hard” choice to make.

“Life will never be easy. It will always be hard. But we can CHOOSE our HARD. Pick Wisely...”

My friend and mentor, Karl Diffenderfer, expressed his agreement with this statement made by Linda Reddy in a recent post on LinkedIn.  He said, “We can either press into the hard things now for reward later or the easy things now for hard later. We choose!” Another motivation I like was expressed by Steve Harvey where he says “You must become uncomfortable if you ever want to become successful. Start putting some pressure on. You must become uncomfortable with your comfort zone.”

Life is truly about the choices we make and how we respond to the resulting consequences. There will always be consequences, both positive and negative. We will make mistakes, and most will not be fatal or irreversible. If you choose to live a safe and unproductive life, you have that choice to make. If you want more, then you must choose to have more and to do the things that will get you there. Pick your hard!