Shift Into Success

Success should not come at the sacrifice of something else. We all think we need to give up something in one area of our lives in order to achieve something in another area. If you want the promotion, for example, then you must give up time with your kids or stop exercising and devote more time to your work. We put so many things on hold while we go off in pursuit of being successful one day. I am definitely guilty of this and it is just plain unintelligent.

Instead, we should go about being successful intelligently. That means a balanced way, a way in which you treat yourself well and can be happy in the process.

Devote time to listening to, recognizing, or writing down your truly best thoughts and beliefs about success. These typically come from a place of love, not fear, are tied to your identity, and may also be part of your life's purpose. Your definition of what success truly is will touch upon these characteristics and, as a result, can be enjoyed even more.

There is typically a marked difference between success as our culture defines and recognizes it and success that actually makes you happy. In the American culture, the message is very much "do whatever is necessary to get ahead." People are initially very pumped up by this focused and driven way of going about things. They feel that they can conquer anything and they set right out to do just that, no matter the cost. This turns success into the end result, the destination at which to arrive. Success should not be about struggle and it should not be about sacrifice. It is about how to approach your life in the Now, as your life is happening.

In my mind, busyness is not a sign of importance. To me, people that are constantly busy and use it as a measure of the attainment of some type of status need to revaluate their definition of success. While there are inevitable times when we have more than we can handle in a 24 hour period, this should not be a daily occurrence. If you find that you are endlessly busy, then that might be what is preventing you from getting what you truly want. Your life should facilitate your achievements, not hinder them.

When we believe that success must come at the expense of something else, then we tend to give up on the goal once we start seeing some progress. As soon as things start looking good, we freeze and revert back to our old habits. It makes sense, in a funny way, because we are afraid that our "if, then" thinking will come true and we will in fact have to give up something we like in order to achieve the goal. The thought, "if I want to succeed at work, then I will have to give up my personal time" or, "if I want to lose weight, then I must give up everything I like to eat". Or, perhaps you encounter the emotional conditions of fear of success or guilt about being successful. If you feel guilt, then you may be worried about leaving your family and friends behind. These are all conditions that you have decided upon in order to achieve results. You are the one that told yourself that you would have to sacrifice X in order to get Y. That makes it virtually certain to happen since you are in charge of you and it is your life. Those were the Rules that you created for yourself. It is almost feels like if you break the Rules, then you are breaking your Laws.

But, what if we can change the thinking and have both things in our lives? What if it is as simple as rephrasing our thoughts? What if there was nothing that you had to give up? What if success could be effortless? If you believe it can be effortless or that it is not something to be earned, then you dont have to give up anything in order to get it. This removes the Rules and conditions that you place upon yourself in order to achieve.

When you remove the conditions your goals are dependent upon, you will notice that your goals seem really achievable. What I mean is, you will realize that your goals will change from "what is possible", which can be measured by what you are willing to give up, to "what is a dream to achieve." Before, you weren't thinking seriously about achieving your ultimate dreams because you didn't have that much you could give up in return for the fantastic results. So, you limited your goals based on how much you knew you could sacrifice in order to get them. You didn't allow yourself to get too successful. This opens up the possibility for even more success. This involves, in a sense, letting go of how you view yourself. Allow yourself to grow and be happy.

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