Most forward thinking driven and self-motivated people are harder on themselves than they need to be. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is an important personality trait. Being driven to win and compete and measure-up to your competition and to the goals and aspirations you’ve set for yourself is important. Also important is to be realistic with yourself, especially in the face of your mistakes and shortcomings.
You can’t play perfectly all the time.
Most of us will discover that we are more loved in the weeks after our death, than in the weeks preceding it. As I’ve heard more than one funeral director say, “Everyone becomes a saint once they’re gone.”
To achieve success though, you need to feel you deserve it in spite of your mistakes, shortcomings, and misgivings. And probably more important, especially for those of us who tend to be more assertive, forward-thinking, and more than willing to make a bonfire of our reputation, you MUST stay strong in your belief that you deserve what you have achieved.
Often, this is tough, because in pursuit of constant improvement and growth, we must accept both our praise and the disdain that falls upon us from time to time. The latter often arriving more often than we might expect.
Worthy accomplishment comes from both the clean and dirty work that must be done in order to get there.
This is not to say that you must break the law or defile your colleagues either.
What I’m trying to reinforce here is that in order to grow you have to be uncomfortable first and that discomfort often comes from the negativity pointed toward us from those that don’t like us, don’t like what we’ve done, or how we think, or that we got here first.
Should you let this discomfort stymie your growth and your pursuit of achievement, you might find success somewhat elusive at first.
Keep in mind that when your vision and your mission are true and worthy and worth pursuing, that this is often in stark contrast to what everyone else can see. Most don’t have the vision you do and that reality can get tough at times. Believe me.
Stay on the path and keep going and when things get rough just remember…
“YOU deserve every ounce of success and the wisdom that comes along with it because you have earned it!”
-John
