Make it Happen Monday: Name Your Price
My good friend Ian is one of the most “Make it Happen” kind of guys I know. He’s been an inspiration and source of motivation for me countless times….both on and off the bike. Yeah, he’s the real deal. Ian leads by example and if there was ever a person to provide you with a post to kick-start your week, he is the one.
Name Your Price
by Ian
One of the most commonly asked questions I hear is ‘What do you want out of life?’ The typical response is something to the effect of ‘Health, happiness, nice house, a Mercedes would be nice…’
It’s at this point that my eyes drop just a little and my smile inverts. There is nothing wrong with wanting the million dollar house with a Mercedes in the driveway but will that bring you the happiness you started the answer with?
Do me a favour, pick your two favorite emotions. Now, write down five instances that you felt them for each emotion and what you were doing at that time.
Now if you’re like me when I first started doing this exercise, pictures and phrases are flooding your mind and if you’re close to a mirror the person looking back is smiling and maybe even laughing.
I’m willing to bet that out of those ten instances you wrote down, few of them included items that you had purchased at great cost that induced the emotion. With those that did, could you have had the same experience that cost half the amount?
We live in a world in which we are constantly being compared to others or we’re asked to validate our desires in tangible means, which in turn are being compared to others desires and wants. I believe that within everyone, at the most basic and raw level, what we want is to recreate and live within a constant state of being and emotion. If you’re like me, no high cost item is going to keep you at that level.
Society markets to people’s wants and desires, or so they say. I believe they market to peoples’ fear. Fear of being left behind, fear of not having what others have, etc. I’ve felt that fear over the years and given into it countless times. It has caused me stress and create a false sense of pride. The greatest fear in my life right now is not living with the things that keep a smile on my face and calmness in my soul. It took me many years but I’ve come to realize that my favorite emotions can’t be purchased.
I’ve had the house and flashy car in the driveway, and it never brought me the same raw emotion that drinking a coffee while watching the sunrise has, riding my bike with a slight tail wind, or putting a smile on a friends face.
Only you know and can decide what you need to do to live the life you want. It may mean making some tough decisions and being completely honest with yourself. But my friend, you only have one life to live.
Keep the Rubber Side Down
Ian, aka – @Pedalman, is from Toronto, Ontario. He is an all-weather cyclist and lives a life where helping others comes before anything else. He leads by example and, of course, always Keeps the Rubber Side Down. Check out Ian’s other guest posts on Loving the Bike (Keep the Rubber Side Down and May the Wind Be at Your Back and the Sun upon Your Face).
