The Lens of Success
Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter. Francis Chan
We measure ourselves through our own lens of success. Did I achieve the results? Did I close the sale, drive the volume? Did I make it happen? And, possibly the toughest measure, am I doing better than him or her?
The same lens of success bleeds into every area of our life.
In our marriages, success may be defined by material possessions, vacations, and certainly comparisons to others. With our children, the light turns to them. They must succeed through my lens of success. Are they better, more intelligent, more outgoing?
It is as if we have this scoreboard in front of us for each area. A relentless tracker by category.
No one, as in not one single person, under this measure of success, win in each area. The pressure mounts, and the measure of success destroys. Jobs are perpetually changed to keep up with the titles of others. Relationships are destroyed as unreasonable demands creep in. And, the race never stops.
At a coffee recently, I heard a friend articulate this as hitting rock bottom. They finally realized they couldn’t keep up. In another conversation, I heard the story of a relationship failure due to running so hard. Over and over, the same issue keeps coming up. My story is riddled with my own lens of success.
We are all own this treadmill that claims to take us to success. And, the treadmill never stops. The soul is perpetually restless.
To settle the soul, we have to change the definition of success, like for real, not just words on a paper.
The definition of success that matters when you get to the end of the road is how you impacted others. I believe that’s it. That is the answer to the lens of success.
The lens of others removes one from the treadmill. The lens of others takes the personal pressure of performance off. The lens of others clears the conscience. The lens of others improves relationships.
Only when you change the lens focused on success to a lens focused on others will you find rest.
And, it is a daily battle.
I’m in it with you.
Today is a gift to impact others.
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