Last year I ended up in Urgent Care. I am fine but it taught me some valuable lessons. More on that in a moment…

First please ponder these questions: What is the difference between compromise and sacrifice?  And is it possible to compromise without sacrificing the things that are most important to us?

My answer is to the second question is yes and I share in today’s vlog more about how the distinction between compromise and sacrifice saved me from a lot of physical pain and a professional expectation hangover.

Those previous two months of my life had been more stressful than usual. I had been doing my best to keep my self-care tank full; however, that week my body just gave out on me. I got a wicked sinus and ear infection and lost my voice after five straight days of shooting and little sleep. I had a keynote scheduled in Omaha and the night before I was supposed to leave I was in incredible pain and literally speechless (and it is kinda hard to give a speech without a voice).

I took myself to Urgent Care because all of my holistic remedies were not working – and believe me I was doing everything! The doctor told me if I wanted to be able to fly and speak, I would need a steroid shot and anti-biotics. Yikes. This goes against how I approach my health. I have spent years detoxifying my body so taking drugs felt daunting.

I asked the doc to give me a moment and did my own internal check in. The immediate response I received was to say yes to the help from western medicine that was available to me. My body wanted relief from the pain and my heart wanted to honor my commitment to make it to my keynote.

In this experience I realized that I would need to compromise on my values a bit but not sacrifice them completely. I also realized that my ego was very invested in being “holistic” and I was neglecting the place Western medicine has.  So the compromise I made with myself was to say yes to the medicine, bless it and make an agreement with myself to really up my self-care and de-tox after the round of medicine.

An hour later I could breath. The next day I could get on the plane. And the following day I was able to deliver my two keynotes to an incredible audience.

I may have had to compromise a bit on how I usually approach my health but if I had not, I would have sacrificed the health my ears or sinuses if I flew or sacrificed showing up for an audience if I cancelled.

Here’s the lesson: Our belief systems and values are indeed valuable. Yet we cannot be so attached to them that we become rigid and unwavering. Sometimes we do need to make compromises for a bigger purpose. If we are more invested in being right, we may make a choice that puts a relationship, our health, or career at risk.

I would never advise you to sacrifice your values completely, but I do ask you to consider where you may be a little to attached to a particular belief. Or where you are more concerned about being right than you are about being loving.

Where is a compromise in order in your own life? Perhaps in a relationship with someone. Or perhaps in a particular set of belief systems you have. Or perhaps when it comes to your own health.

Compromise is not a lose-lose situation; it is often required to create a win-win. Being too attached to any set of belief systems is a function of our ego not our soul. @ChristinHassler (Click to Tweet!)

Keep an open heart and open mind in all situations.

With love and in good health,

Christine

P.S. I have a new podcast where I coach people LIVE on the air. Head over to Over it and On With It and listen in for inspiration and action steps.

Christine Hassler has broken down the complex and overwhelming experience of recovering from disappointment into a step-by-step treatment plan in her new book Expectation Hangover. This book reveals the formula for how to process disappointment on the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual levels to immediately ease suffering. Instead of wallowing in regret, self-recrimination, or anger, we can see these experiences as catalysts for profound transformation and doorways that open to possibility. You can find more info on her website, and follow her on Twitter and FB.

Image courtesy of: Up_Free.