Measuirng Your Life

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”  - Booker T. Washington 

Measuring Your Life

I looked at the screen of my phone.  It was revealing my friend Grant’s number.

“Lynn.  I need your advice.”  He said.

Grant and I spend lots of time talking.  We benefit from conversing about obstacles we’re facing and plot as to ways we can over come them.  Through it all, I’ve learned that victories in life come as a result of our ability to work around and over the obstacles that cross our path.  And, that we grow stronger as we climb personal mountains.  In climbing my own mountains I’ve discovered four factors that can prevent individual progress.

First, constantly nursing personal hurts eats a person’s ability to create and move into their future.  My friend Grant lost his wife a few years ago.  I watched as he floundered to regain his confidence and footing.  We spent long periods of time talking about his past life and I noticed that he was unable make any progress in building a new life until he began to shift his communication from the old to what would become his new life.  He taught me to spend time creating my future so I wouldn’t be trapped in perpetual hurt.  He showed me it’s the only way to overcome pain.

Second, yielding to the sorrow of tragedy and grief leaves a person void of progress and success.  There are all kinds of traps that can destroy a person and this one can be most alluring.  Grant had good reason to be full of sorrow but he never let it overcome him.  I watched as he began to be consumed by sorrow and then propel himself forward to break free of tragedy.  He taught me that a person has never yielded until he stops his forward motion or stops following the steps necessary to regain freedom.

Third, Grant never allowed himself to be fettered with poor habits and personal mistakes.  I’ll never forget when Grand said, “I know I’ve made lots of mistakes, but that doesn’t mean I have to keep making the same ones over and over again.”  Then I watched as he took small steps to change the way he approached his life and work.  He didn’t make great strides over night.  In fact, he kept at if for more than four years until he said, “I keep track of each habit I’ve broken.  When I feel I’ve over come one poor habit, I simply begin to break the next one. I discover changes I want to make by moving forward.” 

Fourth, Grant moves forward by never letting his fears inhibit his progress.  It isn’t that he doesn’t have still have fears.  He does.  He’s just learned that he possesses an internal strength he didn’t know he had until he faced down tragedy.  He used his sorrow and tragedy as a means to gather his courage.  As a result, he’s stronger and more accomplished today than he would have been.  He’s reached success by overcoming his obstacles while trying to succeed.

Grant has taught me to measure success in life by considering the obstacles I’ve conquered.  He’s also shown me that I can become a much better person by moving past personal hurt, not yielding to sorrow and tragedy, breaking the restraints of poor habits & personal mistakes and never letting my fears prevent progress.  Are you measuring your life one victory at a time?