Foster: Salazar & Painful Choices

“We pretend that meritocracies — our favorite word for modern competitions — are contests of equals. They aren’t. Some people can stay close only by making painful choices, and, as the standards of competition rise, those choices grow more painful still” — Malcolm Gladwell.

John Foster/Reading the Race blog uses this quote from distance runner Alberto Salazar’s book to launch into a think piece about sacrifice: “Sacrifice is about being comfortable with discomfort. It is compromise in pursuit of the higher goal. The businessman compromises on his company culture. The politician compromises on what he thinks are his core believes. The athlete compromises on his life expectancy by pushing far past limits of what is considered healthy. The smartest strategic thinkers I know all approach their work with ruthless pragmatism. They see the kinds of “painful choices” that Gladwell describes with incredible clarity. They do not look for alternatives or other ways around.” Full blog post here. (Wikipedia photo: Alberto Salazar coaching at 2008 Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore.)

Question: What have you had to sacrifice to get where you are today? Was it worth it?