Busy
season is almost over! Yay! Now back to some writing.
How do
you define Success?
I think
I’ve attended countless number of
seminars and heard waaaay too many lectures on the things you need to do to be
successful.
The 10 Rules
to be Successful. Challenge Success. Success for all. Predictable Success. The
Secret of Success. Guide to Success. Yada yada yada, the list goes on. (Yes, I googled that! )
It’s
rather sad to see the number of people chasing after success, just because they
hear stories of how another achieved ‘success’. People killing themselves and
others in the name of ‘success’. Bad mouthing another. Politics. Betrayal. What
not?! All for that thirst for success?
I
wonder who even came up with the word 'success'... Deceiving!
Let me
tell my own story of how I thirsted for success.
Law School is competitive. It is really the ‘survival
of the fittest’ (Least that is what they all say). As I began Law School, I was
sucked into this whirlpool of the hunger to be successful. I had to get it all.
I had to fight for it all. Internships after internships. " I must get that moot!" It was all about
making my résumé look pretty. It was about getting
the perfect job- high profile, big pay, popularity and all that jazz. It was to be the best. I
believed in myself. I became proud, ‘cause
I dreamt of having it all. I couldn’t even recognize myself with all that
pride. I changed . I lost friendships I treasured. I became tensed for reasons I find
so silly now. I hardly breathed. I lost the goal for which I really chose
Law. “Everyone around me is chasing after it. If I don’t, wouldn’t that make dumb?
What if I don’t get a job?”… Oh I can go on about it! The lectures and ‘inspirational
stories’ didn’t help either (Oh! And I also did attend classes on how to take control of your mind to achieve success as part of my curriculum). To cut it short, reality slapped me in the face!
Was it really worth all of that?
Was I happy? NO! And NO again!
I’m in
fourth year of Law School. I look back now and I feel like a COMPLETE idiot.
Somewhere along the way I lost track of the calling that led me to take up law. I
believed in myself to the extent that I was fooling no one but my self.
I realized
I couldn’t run away from reality any more. I was chasing someone else's dream of 'success'. I realized I chose to suppress my
calling and chase after what everyone defined as 'success'.
So, how do I define 'Success'?
15 years
from now, a couple of kids, sitting on a sofa, reading them a story, being
happy, content and satisfied. (Oh! And not
to forget a wonderful husband!)
It’s not
about pretty résumés any more! It’s not about the security in the bank. It’s not
about popularity.
It’s
about being Content. Satisfied. And most of all, a Five Letter Word- HAPPY!
For someday
, I’ll close my eyes, forever. Will I have finished my race? For whilst I stand
before my Maker, will He say “Well done Nancy!” or would He ask for my Résumé?
This to
me, World, is SUCCESS.
I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 3:14
