Pay the Price

This is one of the best quotes I ever heard, I had it hanging on my wall for many years:

"For everything there is a price. Your sanity and inner peace come from recognizing, accepting, and paying that price."

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, "Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives", p. 200.

It is stupid if you keep doing things for which you don't want to pay the price. Either do the thing and willingly pay the price (in time, energy, suffering, etc.) or else make a smarter decision and don't do the thing so you don't have to pay the price.

You can't have it both ways.