SUCCESS

Success- what does it look like to you?  Money?  Cars? Boats?  Whether we want to admit it or not, many of us think of these things first when we think about what success looks like.  When we see someone who has those things, we probably are not thinking failure!  But let's go a little deeper in our thinking. 

So you have a bunch of stuff (money, cars, boats), now what?  Does it mean you've arrived?  Are you only successful once you have these things, or what ever achievement you've set out to accomplish?  I used to think that reaching a particular goal was my measure of success.  For me, it was a career goal that I worked hard for many years to achieve.  I had a lot of good things happen along the way, but I never let myself feel successful until I reached that one goal. 

Boy did I get a surprise.  When I finally reached that "success" indicator, I found out it wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be.  I've since moved on to other things, but I take away two important lessons about success.

First, success is not a destination- it's about the journey.  We have to have a goal to strive for- somehting we want to accomplish, but just the act of working towards the accomplishment is success in itself.  Don't cheat yourself out of enjoying every stop along the way.  If you are making progress toward your ultimate goals, you are being successful.

Second, if all your focus is on the top rung of the ladder, you're probably going to be disappointed once you get there.  It's usually not as great as you thought it would be, and now you have nothing new to shoot for.  You've reached your goal- is that all there is?  I'm all for having a clear vision of where I want to go and goals to guide me toward that vision, but the vision must constantly be reviewed as my perspective on what I want changes. 

Take time to enjoy the small achievements you have every day.  Then, when the big goals are accomplished, you'll realize what a fun ride it has been.  You also won't fall so hard when that one big goal doesn't happen quite like you thought it would.  You still have a lot to be thankful for.