This meme spoke volumes to me when I first saw it on my Facebook timeline.  It made me think of all the things in life we truly cannot afford.  Generally, we think in terms of money and materialism when we discuss what we can and cannot afford.  However, there are so many other areas where we need to practice frugality.

Relationships

It is pretty obvious, we cannot afford relationships that suck the life out of us.  We need to budget our time wisely and spend it on people who value and support us.  If you cannot be true to yourself, if have to lose your identity for someone, that is a relationship you cannot afford.

We spend too much time wishing, hoping and praying for people to change and not enough time simply seeking out those individuals who are not only good to us, but good for us.  Stop gravitating towards people who do not have your best interest at heart.

Your Passions

We cannot afford to go through life without exploring our true passions in some form or fashion.  Obviously, mine is writing.  However, I also have a strong desire to explore acting and the theater.  I have yet to fully pursue these passions, outside of volunteering at local theaters here and there.  Yet, it is an area I do not believe I can afford to never attempt and see where it can lead.

We all have a God given talent (most of the time multiple talents) that He fully expects us to utilize and explore at some point in our life.  Do not allow life to pass you by without seeing where your passions can take you.

Complacency

We can never afford to become too complacent.  We should always be growing, seeking and striving for better.  All too often, we lapse into a comfort zone, never to rise until something drastic shakes up our world (think layoffs, illness, deaths).  Why should it come to this?  There is nothing wrong with coasting through life at certain intervals, but there is everything wrong with sheer laziness towards your life and purpose.

It can involve something as small as learning a new hobby, learning about a different culture or simply reaching out to your loved ones more often.  Whatever the case may be, it should keep you alert, focused and most of all it should elevate you to a new plateau in life.

Today, I challenge you to think about all the areas that you can no longer afford to waste time and energy on.  I then challenge you to work towards making the necessary changes to redirect your energy to places that are truly beneficial to your well-being as a whole.