Michael Neil once said, “There is literally no such thing as success.” The first time I heard that I felt an immediate push back, a rolling of the eyes and other thoughts of complete disagreement. But, as the concept of success was explored, it became more and more clear that success exists as a thought in our minds. We make it up and then think about. It is something we determine for ourselves and at times for others. However, there is not standard of success in nature. We don’t go into the forest and clearly find the most successful tree, look in a garden and identify the most successful flower, or see a flock of birds and say, “Yep that bird is clearly the most successful.”
So, following this path, if success is a thought, there are infinite possibilities. If we each get to make it up for ourselves, it doesn’t make much sense to make it up in a way we don’t like, a target we can’t reach or (gasp) what someone else has made up for us. Many often use thoughts of success as a tool for self-abuse or think about it as only big events or loads of money. But what if we think about success differently? What if it is in the moments and not at the end? The only thing that is actually real is the moment. Everything in the future is imaginary, projected or hoped for.
So here are a couple things to contemplate:
1) What is success for you today?
• Try and keep success in a day for a while rather than a long-term philosophical compartment.
2) What happens if you accept the small things as success?
• Stop and appreciate the little things you fail to see when you are focused on the imagined big ending. Step in to pure possibility of successful moments each day.
