The 365 Commitment

Price of Participation

What is the price of participation in a given activity should have a lot to do with your ability to manage stress and find acceptable balance in your life. Understanding the price, the toll, the cost of participating in an activity should help you decide your willingness to do that is required. If the price to just participate is higher than you want to pay, or can pay, then you should really not even consider that activity as a possibility. This can become a formula for when you are asked to take on new things in life.

For example, the price for participation for running. I took up running as a lifestyle a few years ago, and it is not part of my life. It effectively means at a minimum 1 hour per day, and 2 to 4 hours on the weekend. I good warm and cold weather running clothing and 5 pairs of shoes in a 6 month rotation. That is my price for participation. If I am not willing to pay that, then clearly running is not an activity that I should do. However, I am ok with that, so it works for me.

I would also like to have a body like a Greek god. However the price for just participating (not even excelling) is probably 2 hours a day, with several hours on the weekend preparing food. That is a price that I cannot pay, so why do I get frustrated? I cannot pay the price to participate, so what am I stressing out for?

This applies to almost anything in life. You should consider asking yourself what that participation cost is before you decide to take something on. If you have already taken something on, ask yourself, are you paying the price of admission? If you are not, that might lead you to a path of why you are feeling stress.

Guy Reams

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