What Are You Willing To Give Up?
July 25, 2026
Whenever my younger son tells me about a new idea he is excited about, I ask him two questions.
“Do you really want to be great at this?”
And then the one that irritates him even more: “What are you willing to give up for it?”
I understand the irritation. Hidden inside the question is a parent quietly wondering whether this is a real commitment or just the thrill of something new.
But I also know he is still young. This is the age to explore widely, follow curiosity, try many things and abandon most of them. That is often how we discover the one or two things worth staying with.
So maybe my questions are not wrong. Just early.
My instinct is to push him towards depth.
But I know life will do that in its own time.
