Why We Settle
Sometimes it’s real easy to take the path of least resistance, especially when you are comfortable and things are convenient. You’ve done it right? We’ve all done it at some point in our lives. At some point, you made a decision to stop there, either temporarily (until you realized what you were actually doing) or permanently. Either way, at some point, you decided that you weren’t going any further. Be it a job, a spouse or lifestyle, many people just stop in mid air. You were soaring to new heights in your life and all of the sudden you stopped. What happened? You fell in love and you thought love was enough to make up for the lack of everything else that you really need in a relationship. Or, once you got a nice salary and benefits, plus the work environment is everything you’ve ever wanted, you decide to chill as an employee instead of diving into that business you want to start. Or perhaps you are a spiritual person. Someone who is tuned in to the rhythm of life and God and you believe that there is deeper and greater truth than what you’ve been told, but you settle – because it’s easier – to just be told who and what God is rather than to search for yourself. So what happened?
There are some who believe that what they have is all that they are able to get so they stop there. And there are others who are afraid of stepping out into the unknown. Fear is one of the main reasons why people settle. Either you fear that the price to pay is too great or you fear that you won’t find another that has the positive traits as the person you are with. In any case, fear will always cause you to stop dead in your tracks and it will always cause you to feel trapped and empty. Fear suffocates its victims. It grips and stagnates you until you either see it for what it is and overcome it, or until it kills you.
We settle for less when we don’t know who we are or what we’re really worth or what we’re really capable of. So the way to remedy that is to simply, know thy self. When you know who you are, what you are worth and what you are capable of achieving, then fear cannot hold you back and you will not settle for less than what you were created to have and experience. It saddens me to know that so many are living their lives miserably, especially when they have the ability to choose otherwise. If you feel that you are about to settle for less than what you deserve, or already have settled, take some time to look at yourself. A good healthy dose of introspection is in order; wake up call, if you will! Pay attention to the signs, they are all around you. Life will let you know when you have settled or are about to settle. You will know deep within. You can choose to ignore that terrible feeling, or you can allow it to wake you up and move forward into the life you were meant to have, being the person that you were meant to be. When you realize just how MUCH you really are, you will never allow yourself to accept anything less than that! -love, sj
