Brian often uses the following phrase when I talk about “ideals” – the ideal job, relationship, apartment, friendships, life: “you get what you settle for.” I’ve been sitting with that phrase lately because something about it didn’t sit right with me. I have never thought of myself as someone who settles for anything. And then this weekend I realize that I’m exactly the kind of person who settles. We all are. We all get a job, choose a place to live, develop relationships, decide how to spend our free time. So there’s no more need for me to worry about settling because settling really just means choosing a path, making a decision. In this light, settling doesn’t sound bad at all.
We all settle, but the question is what are we willing to settle for? Said another way, what is it that’s going to make us happy and want to get up out of bed today. Either it’s something that makes us really happy or something that doesn’t. It either leaves us fulfilled or it doesn’t. Brian, as usual, is right. What we end up with is what we decide is good for us. We do indeed get what we settle for – it’s a matter of choice.
Christa Avampato 