Two words I find a serious time connecting to are compromise and adjustment. For me, there is innate negative energy in these two words.
By definition, a compromise is an agreement or settlement of a dispute each side reaches by making concessions. Adjustment by definition means a small alteration or movement made to achieve a desired fit, appearance, or result.
It does not sound that bad. However, over the years these words are being used with a negative connotation. These words bear an unseen load of sacrifice and inadequacy.
We deem the ones who compromise and adjust to being less powerful. The focus has shifted from what you are compromising/adjusting for to who is compromising/adjusting.
There are two aspects here: compromising as an individual for individual result and compromising as an individual for the team result.
1. Individual compromise and adjustment for the individual result:
Choosing for the greater good is easy when you concentrate on your personal goals and solely your actions matter.
When a student wants good grades, he is okay to compromise a movie for studies.
When a person wants to lose weight, he is okay to adjust their diet and sleeping habits.
When a person wants to succeed in a career, he is okay to compromise leisure for work.
You will seldom come across a person saying, I compromised fun for work. The individual is more likely to say; I was focused on getting work done and did not feel bad if I had to miss out on other things.
The sacrifices don’t feel like sacrifices to him. The individual with an absolute focus on his ambition becomes wholly indifferent to what he compromised in pursuing excellence.
2. Individual compromise and adjustment for team result:
The team here can be marriage, family, friends, sports team, or work team– in other words, when the outcome rests on actions of more than one person.
In this scenario, an individual who makes the sacrifice or adjustment usually feels that he/she compromised/adjusted for others involved and the outcome takes the rear seat.
A compromise or adjustment for the team’s purpose is collaboration. This can happen when each party is forming choices for the ultimate outcome and does not have a hidden agenda of proving one’s superiority.
When someone keeps mentioning about the compromises and adjustments he/she made, deep down, they were not choosing the greater good but were trying to seek supremacy over others. When the awareness drifts to getting dominance, then one undertakes ego battles.
One is not a team player in such cases and finds it laborious to collaborate for an end goal.
To become a better team player, one ought to remind himself about the end outcome and greater good. This positive attitude facilitates peaceful co-existence.
Key to Inner Peace:
Compromise and Adjustment can give be perceived as an inability to live as per own’s will. The end result of these two concepts however has the mystery of experiencing a satisfying life.
Ask someone to adjust and compromise, that person feels a burden of sacrifice. However, the moment you change the language to making choices for your greater good, the energy feels positive and something you wish to do.
There you go – don’t say I am adjusting or compromising instead say I am choosing for the greater good. You welcome inner peace and blissful life.