Don’t give up just because you think you’ve already arrived OR because you think you have not. You are no better because of your imagined ‘success’. You are no worse because of your imagined ‘failure’. These things don’t define you…You just are…and that is perfect.
Find the Courage to just “Be”
It’s so hard with society’s standards sometimes to realize that our successes and failures don’t define us. There is a difference in taking pride in what you have accomplished. You should be proud for what you’ve done and your achievements. And when we work hard and have put our heart and soul into something and we have not yet seen these things come to fruition, I have learned that it’s ok to feel discouraged or fearful. But, we don’t let it define who we are. Success can be taken away just as easily as it is given. What is ‘success’ anyways? Don’t we determine that in our own minds based on what society, our parents, our friends and partner tell us? ‘Success’ is really whatever WE decide it is.
Sometimes if we think we’ve done something really great and maybe we’ve found some financial success or public recognition we let it get to our heads. We become full of ourselves. But, really we’re no different from the next person. We’re just choosing to use our strengths in a different way than someone else. We all have strengths, gifts, the ability to utilize what has been given to us and rise to our highest potential. That isn’t for any outward reward. It’s for our own growth and learning. It’s difficult sometimes to not put people you look up to on a pedestal. But, in reality, they’re just like us. We look up to them because we see something we want to cultivate in ourselves. I’ve seen people who have done something great and they think they’ve ‘arrived’ so they quit putting effort in. They fall into this trap of thinking that what they’ve done is so very important that they are now above having to try or give. It’s happened to all of us at different times & in different ways. I’ve fallen into the trap.
Then there is the reverse of this. If we think we’ve done something bad or that we have not done enough we, again let it go to our heads. We get down on ourselves. We imagine and tell ourselves we’re not good enough. We diminish who we are and this just keeps us from reaching our full potential. These negative thoughts prevent us from being able to shine our inner light because we’re too busy beating ourselves up. I’ve experienced this PLENTY of times. It’s hard to put yourself out there in any way, shape or form. You are always setting yourself up to be rejected by somebody or something. There were plenty of times I felt inadequate. Especially when I first started teaching and even still on certain occasions.
It is difficult to keep from doing these things. To just BE in our lives and realize that, either way, we’re not defined by these things. I can admit that I’ve been on both ends of these feelings and work every single day to consciously choose to let something new go. Sometimes, I’m letting something old go and for the 100th time! 🙂
The Key is Courage. The Courage to know that whatever happens, you at your core, are always the same, perfect in all of your imperfections.
This is one way that Yoga helps us. We come to our mat with all of our insecurities and imperfections. When we practice we notice if we fall into the trap of thinking we are so good and have already arrived in some pose, in our practice that we don’t need to listen that we don’t have anymore room to grow and we get angry if we are corrected or encouraged to try something new.
Or we notice if we think we have not yet gotten ‘there’ (wherever there is) or we need to be somewhere else in a pose, in our practice, in order to consider ourselves successful and so we judge ourselves and/or give up.
Watch as these feelings and thoughts appear (without judgment) and then we get to leave them there, on the mat. We cultivate the Courage to know that where and who we are is PERFECT and in reality there is no ‘success’ or ‘failure’ only learning. So we practice Abhyasa, Small steps in the direction we want to go.
We move forward courageously, one step at a time. This is my goal every single day. Do you recognize this in your life? Can you decide instead to just BE and take one small courageous step at a time?