3by9

Success

Last week I talked about mistakes and I came to realize that in life and personal perspective it is so easy to get caught up in the negative. Even looking around us we focus so much on the negative that we tend to forget the successes in life that we achieve. Many times we ignore them because we know what we are capable of and think nothing of it. That is a mistake in and of itself.

I have a bad habit of finishing up on things when I say I will. That should come as no surprise to the people that know me. When I do actually get something done on time I look at myself and scoff knowing that I should always be doing that. However, since I don’t, doing it that one time is a success that I need to build on. There is more motivation to accomplish goals when you feel positive about them instead of getting down on yourself.

If you run the mile and you decrease your time by 1 second that is a success. However, if you wanted to decrease it by 5 seconds you might consider it a failure. Consider it as a small step to achieving your ultimate goal. Success doesn’t always mean we reached the final goal. The final goal is not just one success, but a collection of successes that we have achieved on our journey to that goal.

I have my 10 year high school reunion in 2 months and this is a time where I think many people look back and see what they accomplished. Now for me I certainly didn’t picture myself being where I am right now because I expected more. That is when I start to think my life is a giant mistake. However, I can’t always control when I reach my goals, but I can control the fact that I am getting closer to them. Looking at what I have accomplished so far in my lifetime I see that I have done many wonderful things. Not everything I wanted, but that doesn’t matter because I have time to get there.

I’m not saying anyone should disregard the mistakes they have made, take note of them and improve on them. But don’t forget to keep track of all the successes that you achieve and life will start to seem that much brighter to you. Do not rest on those laurels, but don’t forget to look at them every once in a while to remind yourself of the greatness that you have achieved.