A Life of Sacrifice Is No Sacrifice at All

A note to young leaders.

On sacrifice.

We “oldies” will often speak to you about the sacrifices we’ve made for our families. It may come across as a lament, but it ought not.

Children give us three things:

1. Worries and the sleepless nights that attend them;
2. The inspiration to love someone more than we love ourselves; and
3. With that love, to re-experience the world anew, through their eyes – with wonder, joy and innocence.

It’s a package deal … and a bargain.

It may begin as sacrifice, but it ends up being “no sacrifice at all.”

We have children precisely because – deep down – we all truly, madly, deeply want to sacrifice ourselves.

We all long to escape the prison of self-absorption – and it need not be children – it could be an elderly parent, a friend in need, a sick pet or a worthwhile cause.

So pity not a life of sacrifice. Pity a life with nothing worth sacrificing for.