Cost Versus Reward

I recently watched '10 things I asked the Dahlia Lama'. In it the Dahlia Lama discussed the cost and reward of our actions. That we should use our intelligence to exercise self-discipline.

I have heard this concept before and felt I understood it. However, this past week it came to mind just before I listened to the Dahlia Lama speak on it in this documentary. I realize that there is a difference between knowing something and doing it.

The more I learn and grow, the more I come to understand that it doesn't really matter how much I know if I never use it. The only good comes from actually doing the thing that you know is right to do at any given moment. This is the substance of our lives and the rest is just filler; like the many empty calories we consume when we eat treats. Treats are fun and serve a purpose but you cannot sustain a quality life on treats alone.

There is great value to be had in this principle if we will choose to see it. That before acting on the impulses we have, if we give consideration to the cost and reward of the thing we are about to choose we may choose differently than our initial impulse would lead us to. Often there is no satisfaction but only gratification from the choices made by our impulses. It is our impulses that often leave us reacting to every situation we find ourselves in.

When we are constantly reacting we are often left feeling as though we have no choices in the experiences of our lives. We can feel as a leaf in the wind, at the will of an outside force that we cannot control. Is it any wonder that under these circumstances we often feel worried, stressed, miserable, unhappy, and depressed?

But suppose we were to pause even for just a breath to consider the cost or reward of our actions. We then put ourselves in the driver seat of our lives and are no longer left reacting. It is here that we find our ability to choose and it is in the power of choice that we find our confidence, happiness, courage, and strength. Even when we must choose between two things we do not want, how much more satisfied are we with ourselves when we are the ones who choose rather than having the choice made for us by someone else?

Life is a choice and living is all about making choices. When you choose in life you exercise self-control and give yourself the ability to have satisfaction, where true joy and contentment come from. When you react to life you are at the whim of outside forces that you cannot control, waiting for moments of gratification so that you can feel spurts of happiness in between the monotony of suffering that tends to be normal in your day to day life.

With the power of choice you are the creator in your life, when you react you become the victim. The victim that is always left reacting to someone else's choices. The power is in understanding the difference between choosing and reacting. Reacting or an impulse is an unconscious choice. Choosing is making a choice consciously. Consciously making your choice is when you have power. Unconsciously making your choice either by reacting or by impulse will tend to leave you feeling dissatisfied.

I know there is a lot to think about. And as I have been sick this week I am amazed I was able to be this coherent. I thank God for His inspiration for I know it is Him I have to thank for my ability to write this well. I hope you will give this some consideration. And maybe find the self-discipline to consider the cost and reward before you act. Remember your life is not the only one to benefit, but every person you interact with will receive the blessings of your choice.