Success Sickness

(What is success any way?)

As the recent Christmas holiday approached, I was reminded of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. This classic story rings true with so many. I think a lot of us identify with George Bailey who really feels like he is a failure. Everything that he has set out to do has fallen through (at least in terms of going away and leaving Bedford Falls behind). The movie concludes without our hero making it out of town or becoming a famous person in the world. But he has changed the way that he perceives his own success. It is really this change in his attitude that makes him realize that he has succeeded where it really counted. At home. And among the people that he came into contact with every day. He made a difference for them.

I am fond of saying that our definition of success does more to shape our perception of our personal success than any specific accomplishments we make. My friend Roger calls it “Success Sickness.” There is a lot of pressure on each one of us to succeed. Some of that pressure comes from within, a deep motivating force to be better than others or to be seen as success by those whose opinion matters to us. Other pressure is from those around us to keep up with the Jones’. I just want to succeed where it matters most: in my family, for my Marines and for eternity. Are you chasing some warped view of what success is?