Success is a distraction ?

It's 2016 now.

I'm sure there are a bunch of things you want to accomplish and or succeed in. 

Understandable. 

The last year let you reflect on the growth or lack thereof in all aspects of your life.

You get the idea. 

You want to be more successful. You want to fill up the upcoming year with things to do and to accomplish. Your renewed vigor at the moment is driven by passion and hopefulness for the future. 

This may change down the line, but you have every right to bask in the momentous thrill of unbridled motivation.  

Here are some pertinent questions to ask yourself as you move through the baby stages of the new year. 

How much is "success" the dominating factor of your life and the new year? 

Where does the idea of growth come into place for the new year?

Where does the idea of developing meaningful relationships fit in with your goals? 

Success can be broadly defined. 

Monetary success is something that is dominate with the western meritocracy we live in today. Success in business and a career is also a dominant factor in this fluid market economy. One person's perspective of success is just as unique as anyone else's. A conflict comes into play when someone's definition of success makes another think that that is the most sound and concrete model of success. 

Success is subjective. 

It is a construct made for person to seek reward and meaning. Some of it could be seen as illusory and a distraction from personal growth. When a person goes out and seeks success without looking inward and acquiring self knowledge, he or she is trapping themselves in an illusion. When success becomes a means to an end, one gets lost in achieving and inflating the ego. 

Can success exist on a micro level? 

Can success involve being present? 

When you are present, you can see success for what it is. You can question it. Questioning the validity of what success leads to personal growth. 

Success becomes a junk word. Success becomes a biproduct of being present. When success becomes the main motivator, the floodgates for disappointment, discontent and suffering swing wide open. 

Does the community benefit from your idea of success? 

Does the world need more successful people? 

Are you trying to be successful because it will you happiness or contentment? 

The essence of success lies in the ability to be present. Recognizing compulsive thinking and letting it flow through you can be "successful". When the purpose of achieving supersedes your ability to be present, you have lost sight of who you are. 

It's a rat race. Comparing achievements to others and letting that define your success is an unconscious affair. 

Are you using success to fill a void in your life? Are you using success as a way to achieve status or stability in your life? 

Are you trying to be successful so that people can think highly of you? 

Are you trying to impress your parents? 

Success must be questioned. 

Success must be disassembled and stripped of its parts that have little to no value. 

Success is a mask. 

A mask that covers insecurities and inflates the self. Success can divide and conquer. Success can blind you. 

Success is a distraction. 

Distracting you from authentic self. 

Distracting you from exploring spontaneous potential. 

Distracting you from being present and developing close and meaningful relationships.

Success must be redefined for the sake of inner growth. When one sees success for the illusion that it is, he or she can truly develop inwardly. From the inward development, comes a reflection of outward authenticity. From that authenticity, success only becomes a word and progress gives birth. 

DG