My daughter and I had an interesting conversation the other day about her PE class at school. She’s a sophomore in high school and is taking team sports for PE. As one of a handful of girls she is, not unexpectedly, in the minority with a LOT more boys in the class.
Normally, my daughter is fairly aggressive on the sports field. She enjoys getting dirty and doesn’t shy away from a
challenge. In this class, however, she’s been holding back. Playing flag football, she would be open and never get the pass. In volleyball, the ball would be coming right at her and a ball hog (guy) would come from behind and take the shot, never giving her a chance. She got tired of fighting, and decided it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth the fight.
How many times do we decide, too, that giving up is easier than fighting? And is that always a bad thing?
You see, some obstacles are WORTH fighting for but are they all? I know I try to save my energy for the battles that are worth taking on. As a parent of teenage girls, this is crucial, but also as someone who tends to take on a lot…I need to conserve my energy.
How do you know which battles are worth your energy? By focusing on your path. What is it, ultimately, that you’re working towards? Are there ways to go around the obstacle rather than pushing THROUGH it? There’s a time to plow through but there’s also a time to find another way around. Choose where to expend your energy. Next time you find your energy being sapped by a fight, make sure it is battle-worthy and that you’re focused on the right thing…the path.
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We have been brought up to believe that we must never ever give up. Your article challenges this received wisdom, advising us to instead choose our battles wisely.
It is only after we have determined that the project is worth it that we should invest our energy into it. This makes sense and I will be applying this advice from now on.
Thank you for this insightful comment.
Great article. Everyday we have to make a choice on what path to walk. Thank you for sharing your views with us.
Good article – it is pretty hard to follow your path safely AND painlessly, Thanks for educating people about their options with regards to choosing battles.great post.