“Choose your battles wisely. After all, life isn’t measured
by how many times you stood up to fight. It’s not winning battles
that makes you happy, but it’s how many times you turned away
and chose to look into a better direction. Life is too short to spend
it on warring. Fight only the most, most, most important ones
let the rest go.” ― C. JoyBell C.
This is a very popular saying in today’s world especially when it comes to parenting! But let me enlighten you on something…. It is just as important in daily life!
Life is full of opportunities via choices and deciding to make something into a really big deal or deciding to simply let it go, is a key factor in your happiness.
This is a very hard thing to learn to do… to just LET IT GO, but if you choose your battles wisely, you will find not only are you happier, you will find that by letting some of the battles go, the ones you do choose to take on are way easier to “win”. Shhhh, don’t tell the secret
Listen it is a simple idea right…. Just don’t be “that person” who chooses to turn everything into a battle even if it is the smallest of the smallest “stuff”.
Let’s break the phrase ‘Why is it important to choose your battles?’ down a little …
First, NOT all battles are important. Really they are not… Some battles simply just do not matter in the long run. Think about that for a minute. Think about a battle you have taken on that did not matter in the long run. If you can’t think of one here is an example … does it really matter in the long run if your child does not eat all the carrots on the plate? NO, actually it does not and reality is meal time should never become a battle anyway. If your kid wants to eat cheeseburgers with only ketchup fine, don’t stress because reality is most kids get adequate nutrition over the course of the week anyway (by the way take it from someone who has lived this “Nightmare”, this too shall pass). Your kid will not be eating a cheeseburger with only ketchup at his/her wedding I promise! As your picky eater gets older and matures, you will see without the battles, you may have won the war anyway! See, all battles really are just not that important in the long run!
Secondly, some battles, though they may seem pressing, are not worth it if the results from addressing them are not going to outweigh the costs!! Remember your time and energy is limited. Only choose battles where the benefits will outweigh the cost. Especially if you want to solve or win every battle you take on. Think about this for a minute. Using the example above, if you fight with your child every single meal because he/she will only eat a cheeseburger and nothing else – you will be spending at least 1.5 hours a day 7 days a week trying to battle this issue. That is 10.5 hours a week or 42 hours a month which comes out to one full work week…. When reality is if you choose not to fight this particular battle, because you know that your child will not be getting married eating cheeseburgers with only ketchup, then you will find you have more time for other matters at hand. Think of the things you could be doing during this 42 hours a month…. Playing and making good memories with your kid perhaps.
So in other words, taking on battles where the end results do not outweigh the costs really, is just a waste of your time and energy! Choosing your battles will help you have a lot of time and energy for the things that do matter.
“A more peaceful way to live is to decide consciously which battles are worth fighting and which are better left alone.” ~Richard Carlson
Lastly, it’s all about winning the big war. In life, we all come across countless problems that we have to confront and handle. Do you really want to be battling the small things that in reality will not count in the long run? The answer is a definite NO. If you want to reach your greatest potentials in all parts of your life (family, careers, goals, etc) then choose wisely which battles you take on and which ones you just let go!
Life is about taking the right steps to gain what you want. If you make every little thing into a big thing then nothing more than unhappiness and fights will be happening in your life and the end result will never be reached. If you decide which battles are worth fighting and you make your goal in life to live stress free and happy then you will be able to choose which battles are important and which are not and move on to a happier life and one filled with happiness and peacefulness!
Peace, Love and Nature
Wendy
Your local Hiking Hippie, Life Coaching #1 Fan!
