Truth is painful

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not talking about guys who cannot accept the truth because it’s too painful to acknowledge. Here, I’m talking about it in the literal sense i.e. ‘how can it be wrong when it’s so painful?’

This comment may sound silly on the surface but if we drill down further, we may notice that some of us do that some of the time while the rest do it all the time!

Do you recall any of these scenarios?
1. This drug is out of stock but I manage to get it via my friend. It has to be good right?
2. I took 6 months to make a decision to buy a new house. How can it be wrong when I took so much time to decide?
3. We broke off and came back in this yo-yo relationship for 10 years. She has to be the right one since we have made so many sacrifices.
4. I worked very hard for this company. What I am today is what I deserve
5. I have applied for this position 5 times and finally I got it. It is destined!
6. I paid a fortune for my kid to study in this school. How can it be a wrong school?

These are some examples of how pain makes something feel so right. But while it is true that a lot situations require sacrifices and hard work, don’t forget that there are situations where we don’t have to. In fact, when we do something with too many sacrifices, its' good to take one step back and ask ourselves if the strategy is right in the first place.

I have seen friends who suffer in their job but somehow they feel right because it’s so painful. While it sounds ‘meaningful’ enough to stay on, but my view was that my friend’s and his company’s required competencies do not match. For example, the company may want staff to take calculated risks, but the value of this friend is ‘protect company’s interest is rule no.1”. It’s no one’s fault but just a mismatch.

Well, take some of those works you are doing now which requires a lot of sacrifice. I know it is meaningful and justified, but just take a look again and see if you feel so right because of its value or because it’s painful. May be a right strategy will ease the situation.