There is no way around it, but through it. I wrote this down a while back. I cannot remember who said it, but it struck a chord. This is a truth we face many times in life and in many areas of our lives. From loss of a loved one to enduring hardships, it is true. Whether cleaning up a mess, big or small, it is true. From enduring pain to experiencing growth, it is true. There is no way around it, but through it.
Some of the most heart-breaking memories I have were watching someone I care deeply for go “through it.” Most of these are about widows—not left with enough financial resources to keep living life the way they had always lived it. Imagine a woman going back into the work force after being the homemaker for the last twenty plus years. Some of the stories had even a worse fate—an illness that took a toll on their own health or tore apart the surviving family before the death of their husbands. These are stories I have shared many times over for one simple reason. Most of these women went “through it” because no one would take the time to go “through it” to prevent it.
The same could be said for retirement. Google the number one fear for retirees. You may not even have to do it to know that it is “running out of money.” Why go “through it”—the worry, the stress the non-living, when you can go “through it” to prevent it.
The same could be said for your business and its succession. The same could be said for your legacy. The same could be said for almost anything that keeps you awake at night.
Over the last few years we have come to know a doctor and his business that offers preventative, screening scans from your neck to your legs: ViaScan of Las Colinas. We tell everyone about it. Not because it benefits us – it doesn’t - but because we truly believe in what they do. We have seen it save a life first hand. We also have a friend that we have been nagging to go there. His family has a long line of heart issues, so after two years he finally went. We immediately received a call and could barely understand him through his excitement. His scan was clear! He had zero blockage!
Imagine how many nights he spent worrying about his fate. Was it worth it when he could have gone “through it” to prevent it?
Why is it that human nature is to do nothing until the gain is big enough or the pain is bad enough? Why do we not take preventative measures for our health, our family’s health, our business and our future? There is no way around it, but through it. We can choose a different “through it.” So, my challenge to you is to find the motivator or the “what if” that is so good that you don’t want to mess it up or so bad that you can’t stand the thought of it. Write this down and read it every day until you go “through it” to prevent it.