The Illusion of the Perfect Life.

How Green is Your Grass?

Have you been sowing the seeds of your success? Are you prepared for the harvest? Those who are jealous of other people’s successes often have no idea of the consequences. Yes, that rose is sweet and fragrant, but watch out for the thorns! That which you would most value always comes at some cost.

Picture the most successful person in your office. Now imagine the trappings of their accomplishments – more money means more worrying about money, achievement means maintaining and even increasing that level of achievement, working so hard means having less time for personal pursuits. All the while, the competition is always on their heels.

You should respect the achievements of your colleagues, but never be envious of them. Understand that problems conquered on the way to success are simply replaced by other problems. Max Beerbohm said, “I have known no man of genius who had not to pay, in some affliction or defect either physical or spiritual, for what the gods had given him.” Success is a gift, but we know that nothing in life is truly free.

It’s wrong to believe that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Don’t cheat yourself into accepting that the best times are ahead of you. If that were really true, you would never reach that elusive day when everything is as you wish – it will always be “yet to come.” If you just begin to make now the best time of your life, now will always be the best time of your life, because now is the only time in which you live!

Sure, give yourself goals and pursue them with all your heart and soul, if that’s what truly makes you happy. We all need direction – the desire to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. But don’t do it in the hopes of becoming happy. Happiness comes from enjoying what you have already achieved and are achieving right now.

Respect, don’t envy, the accomplishments of your peers and your competitors, and understand that they too must find their own way to accept all the trappings of their success and find happiness. You too may soon learn their secret.