What does success mean and where does it appear in my life? What do I feel about it?
Recently I’ve noticed that I really enjoy the feeling that I get from progress. I now allow it more and more, I presume because I like the feelings that come and these days I’m allowing myself to be happier.
The positive feelings that progress brings bolster a sense of improvement, movement, evolution, growth and change, and its the opposite of decay. That life is getting better and better, and that my optimism is justified. Decay also has its place in the cycles of life and I notice that if I’m not moving forward, decay sets in.
So what is this feeling, just a dopamine hit ? A sense of accomplishment then a dopamine hit? An evolutionary payoff/reward? That positive feeling of success, of winning.
Not success in comparison to others but to where I’ve been myself previously or where I am currently. Maybe I move on from something I’ve been struggling with and it’s no longer a challenge. Then I get a new perhaps more refined challenge. Like a graduation. Not going round in circles.
Where do I find the positive feelings that come with progress?
- From progressive exploratory conversations with other meaning and understanding revellers.
- When I notice myself worrying about something or complaining and I catch myself and stop it. I absolutely love that.
- Educating myself by reading and listening to intellectuals and aware people talk.
- From making out way through our construction projects and getting the money in the bank and the guys suppliers and taxes paid.
- Having variety. Starting little mini projects-like the frogspawn I collected which are now wriggling tadpoles I’m rearing. Love keeping them alive and watching them develop
- Improving my financial circumstances. Actively taking steps recently to do that and loving it. Investing for the first time in my life and seeing returns.
- Feeling at peace, self acceptance and love – and not at war with myself and not engaging in self rejection.
- Getting a new design to do. Designing and seeing the beauty come out of me.
- Getting a client agreement on my price once design is done and putting the project in the diary.
- Discovering new ideas that help join dots of other ideas, finding new words to describe things.
- Helping clients with self discovery and getting happier and learning self love and self acceptance, understanding how their past effects them, and letting go of defence mechanisms.
- Self honesty. Feeling that inner tension of lying to myself release into love as I face what I need to face. Love that, when the ego doesn’t win
- Growing plants and watching them grow and enjoying the beauty around me.
- Doing a long walk or a cycle and the sense of achievement, of doing something kind for my body. And the dogs enjoyment of it too.
- Getting something done that I’ve been putting off.
- Just simple things like cleaning the windows
Just writing about this is producing a contented feeling that life is moving in the right direction. I don’t feel particularly driven to succeed but I do love it when I allow it in and take part in co-creating with life. As I get older this joy in progress and the flowering of wisdom is becoming stronger.
So I’m seeing from the list above that for me it’s both small and large events that contribute to feeling successful and that it involves both material and inner growth as they are all connected.
Learning to Rest with it All 