What Pain do You Want?

I've been working silently in the background on tackling the questions that lots of people have asked me since I "went public" with my blog. However, since I'm not quite ready to post some things, I'm going to shift gears a little bit and share a rather interesting article that one of my coworkers forwarded around:

http://markmanson.net/question

This is a very interesting question, and I think it turns the tables a bit on how we should set our goals in life. It's often said that those who write down their goals are more apt to achieve them, and goals which are difficult and above what we think we can achieve are the goals which we should pursue. However, most people don't make goals by considering what areas in their life they are willing - no, that they want to suffer. Don't set goals because reaching that goal will make you happy and bring you pleasure. Set goals because that goal is so important to you that you'll take pain to achieve it. Those are the goals that will drive you, and those are the goals which you'll reach. If a goal doesn't require pain, it's either not important enough or it's not good enough to be a goal.

Living in my car has been no picnic, let me tell you. I've given up plenty of creature comforts, eaten a lot of boring food, had to give up several social opportunities, and deal with a good amount of embarrassing questions and situations. However, it's worth it to me. I paid off my college debt and my car in just over a year. I was able to give my parents and grandparents meaningful and worthwhile gifts for Christmas for the first time in my entire life. I've been able to support organizations that I've never had the funds to give to before. Day by day, I'm one step closer to ensuring that my parents won't have to worry about retiring after all they've done for me. Day by day, I'm one step closer to the possibility of having my own business. Day by day, I inch toward being able to make a real difference in this world and reach the goals that have been the reason that I've been saving money and dreaming big.

Gallup released a new poll today that really isn't very encouraging. It found that 42% of Americans say that they're worse off financially this year than they were last year. A little over a third said that their situation has improved:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/166850/americans-worse-off-financially-year-ago.aspx

Goodie. That's inspiring, isn't it? It's only January, too. I share this because like it or not, it looks like 2014 probably won't be a walk in the park for most people or businesses. You and I are probably going to have pain regardless of if we choose it or not. Are you willing to keep fighting for goals that require struggle and sacrifice? What goals are worth it to you? What pain is worth it to you?

Dream on, dear readers, and don't let pain keep you from dreaming big.