Participating in Your Own Success

 Sounds silly, doesn't it, the idea of 'choosing to participate in your own success'? Yet not doing so is the stumbling block that prevents many people from reaching goals or achieving much more than they could see themselves reaching! We have to not only get out of our own way but take steps to promote the things we love to say are important to us. Not actively participating is exactly what the old adage of 'shooting yourself in the foot before a footrace' is about. It is also the birthplace of the losers limps that we carry about to explain why something didn't work out, why we couldn't cross the goal line.

How do we exist in this kind of confused messaging? Things like saying we want to be promoted to a higher position while failing to take any steps to acquire the training or education that would allow us to advance, or being in an entry-level position while decrying the fact that we can't move up even while being frequently late or on the absence roll call. It's choosing to do only what we must do rather than searching for something we can do that reflects the abilities we wish we could promote.

Why in the world would we do such a thing? Because it is easier and feels better than actually having the opportunity to become what we tell others we want become or achieve and then failing at it. Complaining is much easier than explaining. When we reach for a brass ring, grasp it and then drop it things get complicated. Fear of failure or the personal belief that we really could never achieve a dream is the offender in this crime. It is also the father of that 'losers limp' we drag around; the 'I could have if only... '

When we choose not to participate in our own success we voluntarily accept the role of being a victim; one who is helpless to overcome or escape from something in our lives. Many secretly believe this posture causes others around them to believe they are really trying but just can't get a break. The things they believe are out of reach are always someone else's fault.

When you choose to participate in your own success you act on it, not like it, literally; there is a big difference. One reflects movement towards something while the other is role-playing to make it appear that you are. You are far more powerful if you choose to be the very best at something you are comfortable with rather than portraying someone who desperately wishes they could be something else but can't.

Finding the position where you shine and taking pride in that job, regardless of how high it may be on the personnel chart, empowers you in every way. Be proud of who you are and what you personally aspire to become.