Arjun Khemani

There is a huge difference between the two words “choice” and “sacrifice”. Yet, people use the word “sacrifice” where they really should mean “choice”. Let me explain-

I’m sure you must have heard the word sacrifice many times. People say, “Oh, he’s sacrificing his dream job for his family.”, “I made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am now.”, “You sacrificed so much, for what?”.

I strongly believe that the word choice should be used in all those sentences above. You don’t “sacrifice” a job for your family. You make a decision, a choice that allows you to spend more time with your family. Because you want to. You didn’t make any sacrifices to get to the point you are now. You made a wise choice that made you succeed. You didn’t sacrifice for nothing. You made a choice, that didn’t work out maybe because of the wrong choice.

We misunderstand the two words that have so distinct meanings. When we say sacrifice, we always think about all the things we could do but then did not do them since we have “given up” on the task or whatever it may be. When we say choice though, we think of what we are doing. Not of all the things we could have done, because we chose to do what we are doing now. It’s not called “sacrificing” parties and friends in college and working hard during those times to get a head start among your friends . It’s called making a choice that you think is the best one and will do you good.

I think that’s why most people who want to try and lose weight or get in shape find it difficult to do so, because they think if they “sacrifice” all the junk food in the world and sacrifice their Netflix and chill at night and go workout in the early mornings for 30 days, they will “get in shape”. But sacrificing is hard. Why not look at it in a different way and say that you are making a choice of quitting junk food and will go for a run in the mornings because that’s the kind of person you want to be. A healthy and in-shape person. You don’t have to make any sacrifices to reach anywhere. You just need to make the right choices.

Of course, sometimes you need to make small trade-offs. But that’s not sacrificing either. Take for example if you want to be a doctor. I don’t know much about it but from what I have heard, you really need to study a lot and get good grades in college and stuff to become a good doctor. Well, then the four years you spend in college shouldn’t be looked at as sacrifices but small bumps in the road, or trade-offs if you like to you main goal of becoming a doctor. You don’t need to think of it as sacrificing what was supposed to be a fun college life, you chose to become a doctor and studying a lot is what’s there in the process of becoming a doctor. And if you really want to be a doctor, I believe it’ll be fun to study and learn more about the profession. So, it’s definitely not a sacrifice.

To sum up: There’s a major difference between sacrificing and making a choice. If you stick to the former, you’ll always have some form of regret and think that you gave up on something. But if you think in the way of the latter, you will be able to respect your decision and it’ll be easier for you to make those small trade-offs in the long run and you’ll never have any regrets if you believe you made the right choice. So, don’t sacrifice. Make the right choices (according to you, only)