“Our greatest fear should not be
of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.” - Francis Chan
We are all guilty of it. Me especially, when I was growing up I never wanted to get married or have a family I just wanted a career, something I enjoyed something I was good at. Something others would look at and think "Wow she really made it". Whether that be in Biology, Criminal Justice or Art I knew I wanted a job I loved and 2 dogs and a cute little flat or house of my own, and that would be all that mattered.
It wasn't until my Sophomore year of College that I lost that naïve dream. I was interning for a very large very respectable Defense Contracting Company and making a great pay check while doing so. I was interning under a woman who was ideally what I had thought I had always wanted to become. Looking from the outside in she was the definition of success she had rose from the bottom to the top and had 2 dogs and a very cute little house and garden. She was important, people relied on her and looked up to her. And she was happy?.... no...... that's a lie, you see she wasn't happy at all. In fact she was miserable because being at the top is a lonely place when you have no one to share your success with.
As I worked closely by her side for the summer I got to know her as a friend, and a Boss, and the false idea I had of this glamorous, successful, happy life was shattered into pieces. Here was this woman who I thought had it all but really she felt as if she had nothing. She wanted love and a family and friends. Sure her job was important to her but a job is only 40 hours of your life a week, what did she have to occupy the rest of her life? I remember when I first told her years later that I was engaged she was so excited for me but at the same time it was almost a bitter happiness. And that made me sad, because whether she realized it or not she had changed so much in me that summer she showed me how much being successful really doesn't matter if you are after the wrong things in life. You cant take sucess with you when you go. Sure you should give it all you've got when your at your job, but your job shouldn't be all you've got. I love my job and the people I work with, but I also love my Husband and my family and God, and I think those are areas we should focus on being successful at the most. I want to be incredibly successful in my marriage, I want to be the best wife I can be, the best daughter, the best sister, the best aunt, the best friend that I can be. (This is beginning to sound like a bad Army recruiter commercial) When we think of success we think of making the big $$$$ and Driving the fastest car and having the biggest house or being better at our job than others. Success shouldn't be defined by comparison to others, We should compete with ourselves not others, because when we compete with others and we are trying to be "better" than them. . . are we achieving our personal best? Or just settling to be better than they are? So today I encourage you to not strive to be the better than anyone else or be more successful than anyone else, but to strive to be the best version of yourself! Be successful in your relationship with God, in your relationships with others, such as your family, spouse and friends. When you strive to be the best version of yourself, then you will be successful in all aspects of your life that truly matter.
of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.” - Francis Chan
We are all guilty of it. Me especially, when I was growing up I never wanted to get married or have a family I just wanted a career, something I enjoyed something I was good at. Something others would look at and think "Wow she really made it". Whether that be in Biology, Criminal Justice or Art I knew I wanted a job I loved and 2 dogs and a cute little flat or house of my own, and that would be all that mattered.
It wasn't until my Sophomore year of College that I lost that naïve dream. I was interning for a very large very respectable Defense Contracting Company and making a great pay check while doing so. I was interning under a woman who was ideally what I had thought I had always wanted to become. Looking from the outside in she was the definition of success she had rose from the bottom to the top and had 2 dogs and a very cute little house and garden. She was important, people relied on her and looked up to her. And she was happy?.... no...... that's a lie, you see she wasn't happy at all. In fact she was miserable because being at the top is a lonely place when you have no one to share your success with.
As I worked closely by her side for the summer I got to know her as a friend, and a Boss, and the false idea I had of this glamorous, successful, happy life was shattered into pieces. Here was this woman who I thought had it all but really she felt as if she had nothing. She wanted love and a family and friends. Sure her job was important to her but a job is only 40 hours of your life a week, what did she have to occupy the rest of her life? I remember when I first told her years later that I was engaged she was so excited for me but at the same time it was almost a bitter happiness. And that made me sad, because whether she realized it or not she had changed so much in me that summer she showed me how much being successful really doesn't matter if you are after the wrong things in life. You cant take sucess with you when you go. Sure you should give it all you've got when your at your job, but your job shouldn't be all you've got. I love my job and the people I work with, but I also love my Husband and my family and God, and I think those are areas we should focus on being successful at the most. I want to be incredibly successful in my marriage, I want to be the best wife I can be, the best daughter, the best sister, the best aunt, the best friend that I can be. (This is beginning to sound like a bad Army recruiter commercial) When we think of success we think of making the big $$$$ and Driving the fastest car and having the biggest house or being better at our job than others. Success shouldn't be defined by comparison to others, We should compete with ourselves not others, because when we compete with others and we are trying to be "better" than them. . . are we achieving our personal best? Or just settling to be better than they are? So today I encourage you to not strive to be the better than anyone else or be more successful than anyone else, but to strive to be the best version of yourself! Be successful in your relationship with God, in your relationships with others, such as your family, spouse and friends. When you strive to be the best version of yourself, then you will be successful in all aspects of your life that truly matter.
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