I appreciate your viewpoint, but if you would allow me to play devils advocate...I would argue that sacrifice is very real. Sacrifice is when you give up one thing you want, in return for another thing you want. I will give an example from personal experience. I wanted to live near family and old friends. I also wanted to travel the world and experience new places. I decided to sacrifice my desire to live near family and friends in order to gain new experiences and travel the world. I felt real pain and agony when I missed a birthday for a close friend or when I couldn't see my brothers at Thanksgiving. Just because I decided to travel does not mean I did not suffer for that choice. This was not the same as giving up $20 in order to receive $40, because the value I place on experiences with loved ones and the value I place on new experiences cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. There is no anguish in giving up $20 for $40 because one bill is indistinguishable from another, but experiences and people can be distinguished from one another; and time is limited and fleeting.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas. This is the way we learn from one another :)
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I think your comment demonstrates exactly what I'm talking about. You're beginning your examination from a worldview which already assumes that your desires are separate and fragmented. It's a limiting belief that forces you to adopt the feeling of sacrifice. Life isn't a series of competing priorities or decisions in which something must be given up. One's life is a separate whole, not the sum of many different parts. When viewed that way, the notion of sacrifice just disappears.