If you take the word apart into its Latin pieces, to “sacrifice” is to do something sacred; to make something holy. I was thinking about this, and it struck me that although we’re always talking about sacrificing things we want for what is right or what is better, it could be a lot handier to sacrifice ingrained habits or negative emotions for qualities we want to develop. If sacrificing something means making it holy, then what if I sacrifice the easy relief I get from expressing irritation at traffic jams? Can I sacrifice my irritation for patience?

So I tried it today. I like to have quiet when I’m concentrating on something at work, and there are a few people near my desk who make a lot of noise during the day. Often I gradually get annoyed about the noise, then notice that I’m annoyed, laugh at how trivial it is, and let it go. Today, when the noise started grating on me, I suddenly thought about what it would mean to sacrifice that irked feeling—how could I uplift it into a higher plane? I realized that a major reason why the noise bothers me at work is my sense of aesthetics. I like being around beautiful sounds, especially when I’m trying to do something difficult or stressful. I decided that I could sacrifice my irritation about the noise by channeling that intensity into creating beauty somehow. I can listen to music at work, or clean up my desk and make it look better, and satisfy that same craving for a beautiful environment. I really like this new meaning of sacrifice in daily life.