Don’t Get Caught In The Vortex Of Success

There will always be more to do and not enough time to get it all done. The sooner you accept this truth, the sooner you can relax.

I coach many leaders who are always going, going, going but are never satisfied. The reason is that success is like a moving target. The moment you think you’ve arrived is the moment it moves further away. This is not a bad thing; it’s what keeps us moving forward and stretching for more. But if not handled correctly it can drive a person mad while they’re chasing infinity.

You don’t want to get caught up in the vortex of success. It will make you feel as though you’re never good enough, never far enough, never anything enough. We all want to be successful, but we have to be careful that we don’t become obsessed by it. Success can suck the life out of you if you don’t balance it. The drive for more can drive you crazy.

So how do we keep from getting caught in the vortex of success?

1) Define What Success Is For You

If you haven’t defined what success is for you how would you ever know if you’ve attained it? The answer? You wouldn’t know if you were successful, and you just might miss the fact that you are. The most successful people have clearly defined what success is for them. They are not ignorant of what it is they are trying to accomplish. It is a clear target that is meaningful to them. They know what they are doing in order to get to where they want to go. After all, we don’t want to get to a destination only to find out it isn’t what we wanted.

2) Have A Hard Stop To Your Day

Don’t work so much that you lose everything else in life. Success will tell you, “There is more to do…you can’t stop now!” You have to punch it in the mouth to shut it up. Don’t allow guilt to control your wellbeing. The dark-side of success will make you feel lazy, uncaring, and unworthy. Recognize its nasty tactics and combat them with balance. It’s ok to tell yourself, “There’s more to do, but that’s it for today!” You have to give yourself a hard stop, or the vortex will suck you back in from your evening, night, and downtime. Before you know it, you are consumed with doing. Give yourself stoplines…they are kind of like deadlines, but the work isn’t finished yet, just finished for the moment.

3) Embrace Who You Are

Stop trying to be someone else; it never works out well for you. You are who you are for a reason. There is a uniqueness about you that you need to embrace. The moment you start trying to be someone you’re not is the moment you will begin to lose yourself. If you don’t value yourself, you will never see value in what you do. There will always be someone further along than you, and if you compare yourself to them the door to discouragement will open, and you will walk through it. However, there are also those who are not as far along as you are and if you compare yourself to them, you can easily start thinking you are better and allow arrogance to kill your creativity. The point…stop comparing your worth with others. Trust that what you have to offer is worth something. I see many people that miss out on a great life because they simply have lost their value.