Sacrifice. For a long time, humans have incorporated the idea of sacrifice into their religions. Earlier on, it was offerings of flesh and blood, whether human or animal. It was believed that the gods or God would look upon the sacrifice, be pleased by it, and bless them for it. They expected something in return for their sacrifice. Religions today have the same idea, though it’s more about giving up food in the form of fasting, or giving up something you like doing for a time. Either way, they sacrifice something they like for something else they value higher.
A sacrifice, by its very nature, is something that is valued, otherwise it wouldn’t be a sacrifice. If I don’t care much for alcohol, it’s not a sacrifice to remain sober. But for an alcoholic, or just someone who enjoys drinking, giving up alcohol is a sacrifice. The idea is to give up something you enjoy to gain something deemed higher value. My point in saying all this is to drive home the fact that to achieve any goal, you must make sacrifices.
I like to use getting in shape to illustrate this, because it’s something most people have experience with. To lose weight, you have to go a little hungry, move around more than you’re used to, and eat different foods. The goal (a slimmer body) demands a sacrifice (eating less). Goals always demand sacrifices, the sooner you accept that, the better. Time, money, comfort, convenience, pleasure, etc. These are all common things that must be sacrificed to pursue a goal.
In your own mind, that which you want to achieve has to be more important to you than whatever is keeping you from it. Everything has a price and sacrifice is the price of achievement. Sometimes what you sacrifice isn’t enough and you’ll be required to sacrifice more, but that’s all a part of the process. We may not sacrifice animals to please the gods anymore, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t required to make sacrifices to something higher than ourselves. Your goal is something higher than you currently are; if you don’t see it that way, chances are you’ll just default back to your old habits. The goal has to be worth the sacrifice, otherwise there’s not much reason to pursue it.
Remember this the next time you’re doing something you don’t want to do, but it’s something that’s furthering your goals. You’re making a sacrifice. Embrace it.