Intention

“To accomplish anything worthwhile, you must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice.”

― John Burroughs

Nothing in life that is worthwhile will come easy. 

You have to work for those things that you truly want. Yet work cannot be narrowly defined as only an effort in a physical sense. Duty. Routine. Assignment. Work is also more so a mental, emotional and spiritual endeavor as well. 

Achievement, excellence and success is never a matter of destiny, fate, timing or being in the right place at the right time. For that would mean that we live by chance and what is given rather than being guided by intention. To live solely by chance would negate the value and virtue of your effort and commitment. Your perseverance and sacrifice. And ultimately, your purpose. 

In order to “be” or “become” – you first need to intend to “be” or “become”. 

To be purposeful in your thoughts, words and deeds. To live with intention – and intentionally – is to be guided by purpose. There will always be a price to pay if you live with intention if you are purposeful in all that you do. You will have to “give up” and “surrender” in order  to “go up” and become “victorious”. You will need to leave some – or maybe all of who and what you “are” behind  – in order to get to where you want to go and who you wish to be. 

To be what and who you want to become requires sacrifice. 

And this is never an  easy proposition. 

Rest assured that the suffering you inevitably encounter along the way – whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual in nature – will only be temporary. You are simply giving up comfort for the moment, familiarity of the circumstance and the certain in your mind  in order to press ahead, grow and become what you were intended to be. 

When you pay the price, you are “trading up”.

And after all, wasn’t that always your intention?