I have said before how much I love movies, especially the ones with fantastic quotes that beg to be used in the course of everyday life. I had the pleasure of hearing one of the most memorable, usable lines a while back in a meeting at work. The quote is from the movie “The Girl Next Door” and one of my co-workers used the line prior to explaining the origin. The exact quote is:

I haven’t seen the movie but hearing that line (politics aside) struck a chord with me. I’ve been fighting the good fight, trying to stay positive, keep the faith and reign in my temper, as well as my tendency to see the dark side and miss the light altogether. Some days it seems like a losing battle and other days I’m just tired.

Just like all of us; we get tired. Tired of working, tired of swimming upstream, tired of listening to corporations and lemmings for hire say how easy it is to be thin, to find love, to be eternally young! All for the low, low cost of your soul, your self-esteem and your mental and physical health.

Tired of people selling unrealistic expectations, reinforcing that not good enough feeling and delivering it with free 2-day shipping and deepening insecurity at no extra cost to you!!  Tired of negative people, tired of being negative, tired of being tired.

But when I consider the alternative, giving up letting go and letting the tide take me out to sea, back to out there, I know I’d rather be fighting tired than beaten down and defeated.

Each and every day we are faced with a never-ending stream of choices. Some choices are relatively easy and don’t require much conscious thought, such as not physically assaulting that obnoxious co-worker, customer, client or kid that works your last nerve like a banshee wailing her guts out while running her nails down a chalkboard. Then there are those choices that are so difficult to make that it physically pains you.

Do I bail out my grown child again or do I let them suffer the consequences of their own making?

Do I stay in this unhappy relationship or do I end it and walk away, alone?

Do I trust this person again, even though they have disappointed me before?

Do I let go of my ego-fed need for revenge and embrace forgiveness and healing?

No matter how committed we are to our jobs, our family, our relationships and our recovery, there are always difficult choices to be made. We (unfortunately) complicate things for ourselves by thinking that after a certain number of years being married, it should take less work, not more. After working a job for so long, the boss should appreciate us more. Once I make the decision to not drink, the rest should be easy, right? Not so much.

So you must ask yourself – is the effort worth the reward?

Is the temporary discomfort of having an honest conversation with your significant other worth the possibility of lasting happiness?

Is the pain of seeing your child experience the consequences of their actions worth ensuring that they will learn from those consequences and be less likely to have to learn those lessons over and over again?

Is the friend who disappointed you worth the effort to explain your unmet expectations and your hurt feelings?

Is my need for revenge worth destroying me, body and soul?

Is the juice worth the squeeze?