The short answer is no. If I were sacrificing anything that was really important to me, I wouldn’t do it. I keep a pretty careful boundary about what I will and will not do. I’m clear about that.
A small number of senior sages feel mixed about whether their civic activities involve personal sacrifice:
Anyone who gives freely of their time for volunteer work feels there is some sacrifice, but they wouldn’t do it if they didn’t think it was worth it. Sure, instead of volunteering 40-50 hours a month, I could be doing other things like lying on a lounge or reading a book. But that’s not the point, is it?
After retiring, I informed my wife that my first year was going to be given to enjoying our beautiful natural environment here. Then I acted on my belief that there was more to life than fishing and playing tennis and golf. So I got involved. I guess the only sacrifice I made was that I over-committed myself by getting involved in too many organizations at the same time. This was draining and prevented my wife and me from doing some of the leisure activities we had looked forward to all of our lives. My terming off two nonprofit boards has helped to restore balance in my life.
No, but I found at one point that one of my daughters resented my time spent with others and not being available to her.
Those senior sages admitting to personal sacrifice offer two reasons: time away from family and giving up personal things they love to do:
Yes I am sacrificing, and I am not happy about it. I am not getting as much time as I would like to watch my grandson grow-up. And I am not spending as much time with my husband or my horses as I would like. At the same time I am a problem-solver, and when I say I am going to do something I follow through and live-up to my commitments. That’s part of my values, of who I am.
1K Club
