At the end of the Revolutionary war what was once a healthy and robust George Washington, now in his 51st year, took put a pair of glasses and stated, “Gentleman you must pardon me – I have grown gray in your service and now I find myself going blind”. General Washington found himself in the middle of a mutinous Continental Army who had sacrificed for the birth of a new country. They has sacrificed so much, while many who enjoyed the fruits of their labors, seemed to sacrifice so little. They needed to be paid for their work – yet congress seemed indifferent to their plight. The disarming act of raising his glasses helped the officers remember the sacrifices made by their leader. A once young and robust man was now breaking down before their eyes.
Not that I compare myself, or many of the things we involve ourselves in, to what was faced by George Washington but everything does have a price. Most of the endeavers we get involved in will not go the way we first envision or hope they will. They will take a toll on us – they will also cost us our most valuable resourse, which is time. We need to be careful with what we say yes to. The projects we do get involved with to proceed with caution and lower our expectations.