EARN YOUR KEEP

There is a difference between earning what you want and being handed what you want.

When you earn it, you value it. When you earn it, you’re a happier person for having earned it.

And yet, despite understanding this fact, most of us are still heavily drawn to quick fixes – shortcuts that promise us incredible results with minimal effort. Kinda like they’re saying they’ll hand us what we really want without our having to deal with the hassle of having to earn it, ya know?

Likewise, we’re fascinated with celebrities from the Kardashians to PewDiePie – individuals who have achieved huge success and fame seemingly without much struggle or effort – and can’t keep our eyes off the ubiquitous ‘before and after photos’ that appear in almost every issue of People Magazine. It looks so easy! How great would it be to get the life we want and skip the “you have to earn it” part?

Lose 10 lbs. in 8 weeks.

Six-pack abs in 10 minutes a day.

It is not surprising that quick fixes are so incredibly alluring. Why wouldn’t we go for something that promises a super desirable outcome with minimal effort? Fact is, humans are wired to avoid stress. We don’t function well under high levels of stress, so if we see something that looks like a shortcut to that desirable outcome, it’s hard not to go for it.

But, what if the desirable outcome promised by a quick fix isn’t actually the outcome we desire? And what if the outcome we truly desire can only be achieved by working hard and really earning it? What if the ‘earning’ part is just as essential as the outcome?

Meaning that while you might earn a lower scale weight by following a diet, there’s a 102% chance that the outcome you actually want is the knowledge and tools that will not only get you healthy but keep you healthy.

No flashy diet book or quick fix infomercial will ever promise long-term health and happiness because neither would ever be able to deliver on that promise.

One more time: There is a difference between earning what you really want and being handed what you really want.

So, you can spend your time and energy seeking shortcuts and convincing yourself that you really do want what the quick fixes are promising, or…

You can accept the truth that there is no substitute for earning your keep. No substitute for hard work. No substitute for the incredible feeling of accomplishment and success you feel when you’ve achieved something not only without it being handed to you, but by not even asking for it to be handed to you in the first place.

We succeed in our lives not by falling for the quick fix, but by looking for the long-term fix.