I read a blog piece recently that touched me. It spoke of success and what we have come to define as success. The generic perception of this said success. In the piece, the author asked, what happens when my definition of success is not a nice car from the latest catalogue of Mercedes or a house with 8 bathrooms and 8 bedrooms, with spaces so big I couldn’t even begin to use them. It got me thinking, because in essence the article was based of defining success by your own standards and not that of material possessions and the perceived worldly context of success. Which made me question, what do I define success as?
For starters my successes are daily. The end goal is so far off, I would be wasting so many years waiting to get to a place and moment that may never come. To which, what happens when I do reach the day where I have the nice car, dream job and fancy house, but my soul is empty? I would think my greatest fear is being alive and not living. Having my head buried deep in the things of this world and never lifting my gaze to appreciate the now.
My successes are in the little things.
- Getting up on the first ring of my alarm without pressing the snooze button at least five times. That for me is having jumped my first hurdle for the day, which is such a small victory to someone else, but for me it is a great feeling. It means that I am about to conquer my day with precision and class, because I woke up on time!
- Being kind in the midst of a horrible day. When my day is going all the way left, I find it hard to smile at a stranger, say thank you to cab driver or ask the tea lady at work how she is doing. When I am able to surpass my personal feelings and still extend deserved courtesy and friendliness to the next person, I feel like I have done my part as a civil human being.
- Putting my phone away to enjoy my own company in solitude. I am convinced that social media is a drug, one that many of us take dozes of in unhealthy portions. My greatest challenge is being able to have my hands still without scrolling the timelines of one or the other social platform and just being still. Being able to keep my mind from racing and simply switching off to relax. When I am able to mediate without fidgeting, I feel accomplished.
- Sticking to my budget for the day, never mind month! Financial literacy is one thing, financial discipline is another. Of which the latter is hard to maintain. When I am able to stick to my budget plans and not overspend and be content with not getting that amazing sweater in Cotton On, I have come and I have conquered. I feel instantly better about my entire life! Yes, it is that serious.
I have yearly milestones, but I have daily successes too. I have planned my life out in great detail. However, I do not forget to live in the now and appreciate it while I am going about the rat race. We can easily get caught up in the long-term goals that we genuinely forget to live. I was once the person who was so caught up trying to grope at my ambitions that I forgot what it was like to live. An eye opener was a time I had to go to a Sunday meeting and my little sister burst into tears. I asked why she was crying, and her response hurt me.
“You are never home. We hardly ever see you, but we are getting used to it now.”
The thought that a child could get to a place where she was teaching herself to not want or need a relationship with her own sibling is sad. How many of us have given up real genuine relationships in the name of chasing the dollar? How many of us have forgotten what it is like to meet someone and not be interested in what they do for a living to garner what you can gain out of this relationship, but genuinely get to know someone? How many of us have forgotten to look up from our mobile phones and notice life around you, that new building that popped up or how the cab driver seems to enjoy his job?
Have we forgotten how to live or have we simply become accustomed to chasing dreams, we forget to cherish the moments we have right now? Always chasing the next accomplishment, the next high feeling and forgetting to dance on the journey.
‘’No condition in life is permanent.” – Marthinuz Fabianus
Chase after your dreams, but remember you will never have today again, cherish it.
With a tad bit of crazy
Love Mavis
