What if success is an illusion?
Monday, March 17, 2008 at 7:54AM Let's imagine that nobody wants anything from you. Reflect on this deeply for a moment. Consider it a valid emotional and spiritual exercise, not a mindgame. What kind of very real implications would this have on your life? your thinking? your assumptions?
Well, for starters, many things you were brought up to believe would seem deceptive or confusing. The perceived demands and rules of family, school, social institutions, workplaces and communities would seem like you made them up. Would you have thought you had such a convincing imagination? Would you have thought you were so gullible?
Take this perspective a step further. Why is it you've grown to link "unhappiness" with not having, not knowing and not doing? Why might you decide that other people and circumstances beyond your control must define your level of inner contentment?
To hit the nail on the head, why would you choose to believe success has to be something you're not? Why punish yourself with reprimands, challenges, blame, guilt, fear and similar feelings that are based on holding yourself back and perpetuating insecurities? Somewhere along the line, you decided certain things mattered. Why? Who told you they should? If you didn't choose to believe your shaky assumptions, they wouldn't matter.
Every moment of every day is an opportunity to restructure your life. In order to do that, you need to evolve to be willing to deconstruct your entire thought system. Imagine what kind of life you would lead if you didn't need to feel motivated, if you weren't constantly working to achieve based on desire. Would you truly discover what is?
Consider a world where you produce outcomes in more subtle ways, and the outcomes themselves don't matter. Consider a world where the thoughts of other people influence which events unfold and you can either follow the group, or take steps to help direct it. Consider a world where top-down hierarchies dissolve, where power and knowledge exist in all of us. Wouldn't you choose to tap into it? What if your mindset stands in your way?
Reader Comments (8)
Very good point you raise here... You are right, it is only my illusions of what i thought should be that have held me prisoner... I'm glad I can be in a place to see and understand that, even as I free myself from it :)
Wow...what an exercise! The first sentence alone sent me on a mental trip: The first thing I thought was, "Who would I be and how would I live, if I didn't need to work to put a roof over my head?" See, for me at this point in my life, my 'success' seems to be internally motivated by whether or not I can continue to support myself (and two grown kids...at least, for now), in some sort of a reasonable lifestyle. Living as a single parent in Southern California is tricky -
When I let go of the thought that I HAD to work, my immediate feelings were one of relief :) then "Wow...what would I do with all that free time?" LOL
Anyway, in recent years, I've been working at really anchoring the Thoughts of already being 'succesful' or 'joyful' or loveable' into my spirit - solely based on the fact that I AM, and not on what I do.
Thanks for such a thought provoking exercise..I need to read it again (already have several times) to get the full impact of it!
People can live a life based on what they assume are their own conscious intentions. When things don't unfold in ways that enable them to feel good, they may get confused. What you see and experience may relate to subconscious thoughts that undermine and override your conscious intentions. That is, you may say you are successful no matter what and secretly think you aren't unless you meet conditions your ego sets out for you.