Defining Success as a Job Unfinished!
Do you define accomplishment by the completion of tasks…the reaching of your goals? Perhaps we should all consider a broader perspective.
I’m a do-er. In the past, I always measured my well-being by how much I got done in a day. Imagine how I felt when something unexpected would come up, taking me off of my plan. Or when tasks took longer to complete than I expected. I’d compensate by working harder…spending more time on my business. That often resulted in starting earlier, working later…sacrificing family and social time. Certainly, you know how that story would end.
Self-Denial in the Form of a False Sense of Accomplishment
I discovered that when I completed a project. I often had an immediate sense of satisfaction, which was immediately followed with the question, “What’s next?” For me, there was always present an element of self-judgment in not being at the goal line. Things would be better when this task is complete.
The problem with this approach is that this sets us up for failure. In other words, if we can’t feel OK unless we’ve finished something important to us, then we never can be truly happy. Sometime during my journey, I faced this destructive pattern.
Stop for a second. We must acknowledge to ourselves that life is a journey. Completion of one goal is always followed by another project, then another. Do we really want a lifelong continuing cycle of a.) Feeling lack as we set goals, b.) Playing the emotional rollercoaster of the feelings, “I’ll be OK when the goal is reached”, c.) Having the temporary thrill of excitement…and then d.) Doing the cycle all over again?
Then, I learned There’s a Better Way
While we’re alive, we never stop reaching for new things, so why not shift the measure of success to how we are feeling along the way. We’ve been talking for quite awhile on this blog about the importance of measuring how you’re doing by the joy you feel. So, set a new perspective of having fun as I make progress toward my goal. What better way could there be to attract more of what you want along the way than the attracting power of a feeling good place.
From that place, the completion of one project evolves naturally, and seemlessly, into the next step on your path.
Mynders