Happy Monday ! Have you ever wondered why we settle so easily in significant areas of our lives? Sure there are some decisions that bear little influence and therefore settling for any decision has virtually no impact on us. But what about the weightier things of life? Why do we settle for bad relationships? Why do we settle for mediocrity in business, in service to others, and where diligence and discipline is required? Yes the short answer is that we all gravitate toward whatever is easiest, but there is something at stake when we do so...our selves.
I believe there is a profound link to the deep dissatisfaction people experience in life, and the areas in which they have settled. It's the basis of buyers remorse. It's at the heart of unhappy marriages. It's behind the person who is miserable at work everyday. Somewhere in that process, such people disregarded something vital about themselves, and they never really got over it.
Now, I know there are limitations in life, such as finances, geography, timing that necessitate us not getting what we really want--I'm not talking about that. I'm talking to that little voice in our heads that we ignore when we know we shouldn't. It's that small reminder to floss or eat better, and its that check in your gut about our choices in relationships and business. Ignoring that voice is the kind of settling that causes us to lose ourselves, and once we get on that path, everything in the world begins to frustrate us and leave us wanting.
Getting that back is way harder than it may seem, but the experience is true liberation. Watch the last of the Check Engine Light mini-series in The Best Year Possible to learn more.
This is Part 6 in our series on The Best Year Possible. In this series we have been looking at some very important signs that alert us to problematic thinking. This is the third of three: Scarcity, Fear, and now Settling. Learn how these warning signs will alert you not only to problematic thinking, but are also tools that can enable you to actually possess the personal or professional progress you desire.
In this scene from the Shawshank Redemption the characters tap into a vital theme about life, even for those in prison. It's a great parallel to the many forms of captivity that people succumb to in our modern lives. On the issue of settling, no aspect of our live could be more negatively impacted than to settle for a life with no hope. If you have never seen this movie, make it a point to watch it soon.
