When it comes to pursuing desires, I’m convinced that a person must elevate their level of caring about their desire to match or exceed the energy and commitment that other areas of their life enjoy. I’m talking about the areas that started out as desires that are now firmly entrenched areas of their life that they care the most about.
This is my colleague and friend Stacey Breining proving my thesis. She is having her hand raised for achieving victory in her very first sanctioned Brazilian jiu-jitsu contest at a tournament on Saturday.
In order to achieve this magical moment, she had to care about this result as much as she did being a good mother to her two children, a loving wife to her husband Demian Barrios, her career, her checking account, and so many other things.
Why? Cause it took a year plus of training, an investment of money and time, adjustments to her work schedule, passing on opportunities that conflicted, long commutes, mentally challenging herself to overcome the fear of literally fighting opponents, and overcoming injuries. I could go on and on. The sacrifices were great to achieve this moment.
Fortunately, Stacey’s whole family got behind this journey as she is joined by her kids and husband in competing in this sport. They are all super passionate about it and the doing the journey together has brought them so much joy as a family and as individuals.
It is worth noting that people in our lives don’t always support our pursuits. If Stacey desired to take this journey solo, the choice to commit would have been even more amplified be cause of all the time she would have to be away from her #1 care - her family.
If she could not place enough value on her desire to go on this journey, then any of the above mentioned things she cares deeply about would have easily turned this desire into an afterthought at best, or an unrealized dream at worst.
Kudos to all of us who find the courage to go for what we desire. I believe that one of the keys is to elevate how much you care about a desire to get your level of caring to about the same level as the non-negotiables in your life. That’s what it takes to achieve your desires!
I am in no way suggesting that a person should care more about anything than their kids. But I am suggesting that while on a journey you will need to temporarily care about achieving your desire just as much as you care about the top two or three things you care most about, if you want to achieve the moment Stacey is in this photo!
