Passion, Compliance, And Comfort

It Can Be a Tough Battle

It was 5:21 am, as I was driving to the track for a workout, when the following narrative began to flow, titled Passion versus Compliance and Comfort.

What came to mind was the idea that conflict can arise when our dreams and goals don’t align with the people who are often closest to us, like family members, coworkers, friends, and casual acquaintances. Depending on the degree of influence within those personal connections, they can have a significant impact on the personal choices we make to advance our dreams and goals.

I’ve witnessed Individuals choose the path towards a lack of conflict simply because the emotional discomfort was far greater than the perceived satisfaction of achieving their goal. This is particularly noticeable when the goal achievement process has not become intricately woven into the psychological fabric of who we are.

I’ve observed it most with high school graduates toiling between attending a local college, versus traveling across country to a new city to attend the college of their dreams. Where all those doubt-filled questions are posed, that cannot be answered in the moment, like adding paper to an existing fire. Where will you stay? How will you pay for (Fill in the blanks)? What happens if you get sick?

I’m certainly not downplaying the importance of having answers to those and other questions. However, many of us learn that those questions have legitimate answers, which may require…