By the world’s standards, I’m not exactly a success story.
I’m okay with that. I kind of think real accomplishments aren’t always obvious, anyway.
Like showing up to class can be considered successful for some people regardless of what grade they end up getting. A successful parent might be the one who still says no after three tantrums, a pouty face, and ten promises that this is the last thing ever to be asked for. And the jobless business man might be the real story for standing up for his beliefs. Sometimes success isn’t immediately obvious.
The one thing I keep coming back to when I think of success, though, is LEARNING.
Did I learn something?
Then I can count the experience as a success.
Whether it be a terrible fight with someone I love or failing a test or striking out, if I can take away something from the experience, if I can learn, then I can count it a success.
Of course, that kind of thinking might elicit an eye roll and a “whatever” from someone who really wants to go places and rise above mediocrity. So how about this, a little formula for that kind of success—-the kind that takes you to a visibly different, but better place.
I haven’t completely finished testing it yet. I’m still on the “W” and a little wavering on the “H”, but it’s something to work with, and like a lot of formulas, it might need to be tweaked, but maybe it can help to point out some answer that you can use in YOUR formula for success.
H= Hope (believing things can get better, having assurance that you have not reached the limit of goodness and wonder for your life, and having a dream/goal)
W= Work (You have to work. Even if you are super-skilled and brilliant, you have to work.)
D= Discipline (Don’t under estimate the importance of making yourself do something when you don’t feel like it.)
E= Encouragement x 2 (Going it alone is rough and everyone needs to hear some cheering every now and then. Lean on a friend or a mom/dad/sister/brother. And above all, SPEAK good things to yourself. “Love your neighbor as yourself”. If you wouldn’t say it to your neighbor, then don’t say it to yourself.
R= Risk (Do you dare to hope for big things? There’s being safe, and then there’s being a wimp. Don’t let life dictate where you go and what you do. You get to chart that course.)
DISCLAIMER: A person could implement this formula perfectly and still find failure.
“There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death.”
Although I believe strongly that a person needs to do their part, I also know that without God, none of it matters. Seriously, none of it.
Let me know if you have a formula for success. PEACE!
