by Barry Rice » Sun Jan 28, 2007 7:54 am
Without an effective, written definition of success, supported by effective goals, you stand the chance of being in conflict with yourself and achieving nothing substantive.
Sure, you can set goals, achieve some and fail at others, or stop in the middle. However, if your goals do not support your definition of success you may always be in conflict with yourself and deprive yourself of actually living your success.
Society, and today’s educational programs attempt to lead us to believe, and strive for, success measured by money, status symbols, or the elusive “pot of gold” at the end of some distant rainbow. Further, society's value system seems to dictate that unlimited money and/or material 'toys' are the primary evidence of success. Those who have are treated with respect, even reverence. Those who don’t, unfortunately, are most often relegated to social insignificance.
Think about it. If you allow your desires and society's definition of success to overstep your willingness to pay-the-price for achievement, and you fail to achieve it, life may seem without purpose, which is emotionally draining. This is why it is so important to , FIRST, define the elusive word “success” in terms of your life . . . your future.
People who take their definition of success and goals lightly seem to design their actions - if they do any designing at all - after what they think society will think of them. They don’t examine their own wants and needs. The point to remember is that when you design, and accept, your own definition of success, you will not need to concern yourself with the definitions of others.
Defining what success will be in your future of independence is the first - and most important - action step as you are MOVING FORWARD OUT OF THE FOG. All of your subsequent actions must support your definition of success, not conflict with it. The goals you set, the plans you develop, and the actions you take, must be in harmony with your definition of success or you will likely go nowhere and, therefore, remain fog-filled.