Accepting Sacrifice

Lately, I’ve been thinking about a few barriers that have been presented in my life. Unexpected barriers, but ones that I have had to overcome. In doing so, I have allowed myself to become more open to the word ‘Sacrifice’. I think people tend to look towards sacrifice as being a bad thing, when it can in fact be a positive. That is if you allow it to be!

The whole idea of sacrificing something is to give it up in order to act in a more considerate way. It is very apparent that people don’t tend to sacrifice for the greater good in this day and age. I hate to say it but we are living in a selfish generation where people will look towards their wants as opposed to their actual needs. We live in a generation where someone will put themselves under financial strain or pressure to satisfy their needs – buying that fancy 47-inch TV and struggling to pay their bills at the end of the month. A society where satisfying your own actions are more important than the broader picture. A picture where sacrifice is important in order to live a more happy and prosperous life. If you think about it this way, having everything you want and not sacrificing will only make you want more. Expect more. Whereas a little bit of sacrifice here and there will allow you to step back and appreciate the more important things in life. I’ve learnt this lately through mistakes I was about to make.

An Important quote to live by. Photo Credit: Google

Sacrifice is not only about the materialistic objects in life, but the personas us as a generation have developed. We are being saturated with fancy goods and selfish mindsets. Consideration towards other people and distinguishing between what is right and what is wrong doesn’t come into play anymore. It’s very much a society of act now and accept possible consequences later.

I am now speaking from my own personal experiences in relation to sacrifice. It’s only now that I realised the mistake I was about to make. I’ll admit that in terms of materialistic goods, I wasn’t shy to sacrifice (apart from the one indulgence I made recently, which was well-earned) but in terms of my life and how I acted as a person, sacrificing was a little harder to come by for me. I’d have no problem giving up buying a fancy phone for an old, reusable phone I found in a cupboard throughout the years – but if you asked me to sacrifice a night out in order to pick up my brother, chances are I’d be in the club. I’m not afraid to admit it and looking back now it’s not the best trait to develop. It’s one I am fixing and have learnt a lot lately in terms of sacrificing at times. At the end of the day, if you give something up in the present, it’s likely the favour will be remembered and returned in the future. It’s nice to be nice, and this phrase really does come into my mind when thinking about sacrifice.

As you are all aware, I was going to (and in fact did) indulge in a fancy iPhone 7 Plus. This was going to cost me quite a substantial amount of money. A 400 euro upright fee plus 40 euro a month over two years, which adds up to an extra 960 euro and that’s if you don’t go over your data usage! A total of 1360 euro out of the back pocket. Did I even consider this in relation to my budget? Not at all, I was getting the phone and that was that.

The problem with this was that I was currently paying the bank back a student loan which I had taken out in the middle of September 2016. This loan was for the amount of 1,500 euro and allowed me to buy a car that I badly needed. I was paying it back in monthly installments over a two year period. This was a huge priority of mine and I understood the concept of having to pay this back each month without fail. Failure to do this would affect my credit rating, further loan opportunities and overall respect with the bank. When you add on top of this the weekly petrol I had to put into the car, the insurance payment and the money I owed my parents, my monthly bill was pretty hefty. It doesn’t help when you’re only working a part-time job too (with very unreliable hours), as well as juggling training and college in between.

So, instead of putting all that money I had earned into the bank loan I decided to indulge in a fancy phone. Priorities right? No, very much wrong. The problem with this was that I didn’t even realise the huge mistake I was making until the situation with the phone occured, which saw me having to return it. I was completely blinded by my own selfish needs and failed to looked at the bigger picture. Luckily enough, fate intervened in a way and saw me not spend all that money on the phone – instead opting to refix my sisters old phone for 30 euro. Big difference I know! Where did the money go? Where it should have gone in the first place, my student loan. I managed to knock off over 2/3rds of the loan in one payment. I now currently have 480 euro to pay back, which is very good considering it’s a two year period loan that was only taken out in September. It’s a relief if anything and I’m confident of paying off the loan fully this month. It made perfect sense to try and get rid of the loan first, and then possibly think about saving for a phone if it fits the budget. Sacrificing the wants for the needs. The possibility was that I would have been in huge financial strain if I bought that phone but the more prominent problem was that I was going to overlook this and forgot about the sacrifice. It’s a problem I’ve learnt to acknowledge hugely and will always play on my mind in further, which is technically a good thing.

 

The phone I fixed up for €30

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that it’s ok to give up something in order to concentrate on the more important things in life. You need to look at whats right for you and forget about what others have. The world isn’t all about materialistic values, so don’t get bogged down if your friend has an iPhone 7 and you don’t. Look at the bigger picture. Get your priorities right first, sacrifice in the moment and by all means indulge in yourself from time to time as long as it fits your budget. I’m not saying you can never enjoy materialistic goods, but make sure you don’t overlook those important factors that are hidden to you at first. Sit back and take the time to work out if this is the right or wrong thing to do, instead of rushing into a decision. Learn to sacrifice from time to time and I promise you that you’ll live a more enjoyable and appreciative life.

Have you ever had to sacrifice something in life or never sacrificed and regretted it? Let me know in the comments below. I’m intrigued to know your personal experience on the topic! 

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