Easy Options vs Hard Options
Quotes
Only the hardest roads make us really feel that we are alive! Leave the easy roads!- Mehmet Murat Ildan
Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial. — Gautama Buddha
Take those road hazards- the potholes, ruts, detours, and all the rest- as evidence that you were on the right route. It’s when you find yourself on that big, broad, easy road that you ought to worry.- Joni Eareckson Tada
If the road is easy, you’re likely going the wrong way. — Terry Goodkind
The temptation to take the easy road is always there. It is as easy as staying in bed in the morning and sleeping in. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader and any team. — Jocko Willink
What my father especially taught me was to not always take the safe road, the easy road. If you are going to do good work, you have to risk failing badly. – Natasha Richardson
Good things do not come easy. The road is lined with pitfalls. — Desi Arnaz
There is no short and easy road, no magic cure for those ills which have afflicted mankind from the dawn of history. -Frank B. Kellogg
A true leader must have enough backbone to stand alone – even when the crowd wants to take the easy road home. A true leader cannot be dependent on companionship for his or her security, but must learn to trust in God alone. – Leslie Ludy
Rather than taking an easy route, taking a difficult route is more satisfying and interesting. Life is hard at times; life is easy at other times. It zig zags and spins round and round. It goes up and down When all that is done, you’ll probably smile and say, “I lived a very fun life — Minzy
Courtesy
https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/easy-road.html
https://quotlr.com/quotes-about-easy-road
https://quotlr.com/quotes-about-difficult-and-easy
Abstract
It’s one of those paradoxes of life that are very interesting. What we think is the easy option usually turns out to be the worst option we would have taken in the long run.
Most of our problems stem from taking shortcuts and taking the easy option. We avoid doing the necessary to do the convenient stuff. This is the key driver of most of our problems and issues in life.
We should always know our key priorities, ‘the necessary’, at any time. We should never neglect the necessary at the altar of the convenient stuff.
Cost of Procrastination
Police Traffic Ticket
I have been putting off minor repairs to the family car due to other pressing commitments. But life will always catch up and the consequences of procrastination will have to be paid one way or the other. We always forget that we harvest what we sow.
This week the traffic police flagged the family car down and I got a traffic ticket. The cost of the ticket was double what I would have incurred in resolving these minor repairs. I was irritated but had to accept the price of my neglect. We will always harvest what we sow.
If we seed neglect and slothfulness in our lives sooner or later we will reap the consequences of our actions. It’s a simple universal law that always comes to bite us. We can kick the can down the road but it will eventually catch up with us.
The Convenient and Easy Path
Personal and society ills are almost always the by products of taking the easy path. Immediate self-gratification is the bane of society. The majority of human beings avoid taking necessary and hard options. Petty thieves and criminals usually avoid hard work and take the easier path of robbing other individuals.
We avoid the necessary paper work and miss great opportunities due to our sloth. We miss key appointments as they might come at inconvenient times when we would rather be relaxing at home. We avoid upgrading our skills as it will mean sacrificing our leisure time for study time.
We avoid doing the exercise and take the easier option of sitting down and watching movies as we believe we can do the exercise the next day. We keep putting it off until we are obese and facing life threatening conditions.
We avoid the hard conversations with our kids and significant others. We then lament down the path when the kids are not performing well in school or have picked up undesirable habits that would have been nipped in the bud earlier.
We take the easy path of not maintaining our assets such as our houses, cars or other possessions only to face the cost of significant repairs down the line. We avoid budgeting, saving and investing our money to enjoy momentary pleasure only to face financial ruin down in the future.
The ‘hard options’
The hard options mean doing what we hate but is necessary. I am always grateful when I take the hard options and decisions. It always strikes me down the line that the hard decisions always saved my ‘butt’
Avoiding junk food, eating right, doing our exercise, ensuring we maintain and cultivate the right habits, upgrading our skills constantly. Taking out insurance for our assets, medical care and other important items? Saving and investing consistently
These are what are considered the ‘hard options’ in life. They are termed hard but we should start viewing them as the easier options in life.
Turn the table on its head. Alter your perception and start viewing them as the easier options in life. When we start viewing the necessary as the easier options our lives can change dramatically.
Summary
We always need to ask ourselves have I done the necessary before I do the convenient. Keep your key priorities in front of you each day.
Do we want to be liked or do we want to do the right thing? Do we want to go along with average yet we are capable of greatness? Do we accept the mediocre and sacrifice our true potential?
Before we relax or take a break, we should always ask ourselves are we sacrificing our potential for convenience? Do not settle for average and always aim high. Take that ‘hard road’ it normally leads to the easier roads in life.