What is a sacrifice?

sac·ri·fice

ˈsakrəˌfīs/

noun

By definition, it means:

1.an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure

When we use the word in context, more often than not we are not referring to slaughtering an animal and making a sacrifice to a religious figure. We are usually referring to trading one thing for another.

An example of this would be if you wanted to lose weight, you might choose to give up sugar or carbs, or sacrifice your extra hour of sleep in the morning to get exercise. You might not go out on Thursday nights to study extra hard to get a good grade on a test. You get the picture, right?

The biggest issue with making these so-called "sacrifices" it lacks instant gratification. It can take a lot of willpower to make sacrifices and stick with them, due to the fact we can't see the results instantaneously. So then why do we do it?

One important part of the growing process, may it be physical, academically or mentally, is to be able to see the positive outcomes of actions we take now, and how they can positively benefit us down the line. For instance, during college, it is important to pay attention and get good grades, so that you can succeed in the real world. Where the willpower and sacrifice come in is during the moments that you want to skip an assignment in the moment because there is a more fun opportunity lying ahead, but instead you buckle down and do it, because you consciously know that completing the assignment will help you get a better grade which will help you down the line when you enter the real world.

Most of the time, when we don't make the sacrifice, we learn by looking back in retrospect, after you see the consequences, but the importance is learning from that to know that next time, the sacrifice will be worth it.

It takes maturity to understand the importance of sacrifice, and everyone learns at their own pace and in their own way. You have to give to take, and you must give things up to get things that you want. It is the power of looking down the line, and seeing the long-term effects rather than living in the short term.

The moral of the message is that sometimes we have to give up things we want in the short term for things we REALLY want in the long term. To help yourself, set goals, both long and short-term.

Remeber, sometimes you have to spend time doing what no one else does, you are doing it to have a life or reach a goal that no one else can.