Word of the Week

Trade-offs

Definition: the exchange of one thing for another of more or less equal value, especially to effect a compromise.

Consider this...

Life is a series of trade-offs.

I’m sure you’ve heard that at some point, right? Well, it’s annoying but it’s true.

Indeed, right now I’m dealing with that very issue. But who am I to complain, because you know what - who isn’t dealing with complicated trade-offs?

You see, I have to choose between a temporary job offer and my current full time, though less, shall we say, supportive position. I love my full time gig but some side support would be nice. But that’s not even the issue.

The problem I’m facing - the trade-off, if you will - is that by taking this offer I am making the life of someone I love a bit more difficult in an interpersonal sense. So, one way or another, I’m going to have to make a decision and therefore a trade-off.

It’s the decision making that this really comes down to and that most of us find so challenging when dealing with trade-offs. It can be very difficult to make these kinds of decisions because no matter what, something that you want to do and be doing will not get to be done or experienced. It’s life, though, and I know that, but I do wish that there was some disinterested, benevolent force that could weigh in and provide me with an answer.

For now, though, I have some time to talk it out and think it over, and I hope that when I’m done things feel like a wise decision and not a calculated trade-off.