“IF you want to achieve your potential , you must give up some things and there may be things you value dearly.” I had a discussion with a few young ladies a few days ago and decided my focus in the column this week will be the Law of Trade-Offs from John Maxwell’s 15 invaluable laws growth. These laws have assisted me with my personal and professional growth.

You Have To Give Up To Grow Up.
People will cling to an unsatisfactory way of life rather than change in order to get something better for fear of getting something worse.
When you’re first starting out in your career it’s not very hard to give up to grow up. In fact, you’re willing to give up everything for an opportunity because your “everything” isn’t much of anything. But what about when you’ve started to earn some things; a job you enjoy, a good salary, a home, a community you’ve become part of, a level of security? Are you willing to give up those things for a chance at doing something that will take you closer to your potential?

Truths about trade-offs:
Trade-offs are available to us throughout life
Everybody makes trades throughout life, whether they know it or not. The question is are you going to make good ones or bad ones.
Nothing creates a greater gap between successful and unsuccessful people than the choices we make. Too often, people make life more difficult for themselves because they make bad choices at intersections of their life or they decline to make choices because of fear. But it’s important to remember that while we don’t always get what we want, we always get what we choose.

Whenever you face an opportunity for a trade-off, as yourself these two questions: What are the pluses and minuses of this trade-off? Anytime you react to one of life’s crossroads according to fear rather than looking at its merits, you close yourself off from a potential opportunity. Will I go through this change or grow through this change? Positive trade-offs should be seen as opportunities for growth and seized. After all, we become better as a result of them. We grow through change, we become better. We take control of our attitude and emotions. We become positive change agents in our own lives.
Trade-offs force us to make difficult personal changes.

Often I hear people expressing the hope that things will change. At those moments, I want to tell them that the difference between where we are and where we want to be is created by the changes we are willing to make in our lives. When you want something you have never had, you must do something you’ve never done to get it. Otherwise, you keep getting the same results.
Change may not always be easy, but it can always be done
The loss of a trade-off is usually felt long before the gain
We want change, but we don’t want to wait for the result. And often we become acutely aware of what we have lost in the trade because we feel that immediately, while we often don’t reap the benefit of the trade until days, weeks, months, years, or even decades later.

Most trade-offs can be made at any time
We can give up bad habits to acquire good ones anytime we have the willpower to make the decision.

After they make a bad trade-off, people often panic, feeling that they have blown it and can never recover. But seldom is that true. Most of the time, we can make choices that will help us come back. So when it comes to choices, never say never.
A few trade-offs come only once
The cycle of change gives us windows of opportunity in which to make decisions. Sometimes that cycle only comes around once. Miss it and the opportunity is gone.

The higher you climb, the tougher the trade-offs
When you’re starting out in life you have little to give up. But as you climb and accumulate some of the good things in life, the trade-offs demand a higher price. Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem.
When we’re at the bottom, we make trade-offs because of desperation. We are highly motivated to change. As we climb, we change because of inspiration. At this higher level, we don’t have to anymore. We get comfortable. As a result, we don’t make the trade-offs.

Trade-offs never leave us the same
Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.
We are never the same after we make a choice.
Some trade-offs are never worth the price
Not everything in life is on the trading block. And I’m not willing to trade away my values for anything or anyone. These kinds of trade-offs only lead to regret. And they are difficult to recover from.
I believe that most people make these kinds of devastating trade-offs and don’t realize they are making them until after it’s too late.
There is no future in any job. The future lies in the person who holds the job.
Trust you received some value from this content as I did. Email beyondtherunway1@gmail.com if you will like to join us for the next mastermind and celebrate a beautiful Easter weekend.