Will your Quest for Success be your Downfall?

Thought: When you find what you are looking for in life, what’s next?

It’s funny how so many people are on a never ending quest to be better, richer, more successful. We want to be the best we can in life, and sometimes that quest seems to be never ending.

Isn’t that the point though? The journey is a continuum, and it’s the journey of life that makes it so much fun. Life experiences, emotional highs and lows, trials and successes, failure and joy.

It’s the highs and lows of life that make life so interesting!

I think if I ever reached a point where I was satisfied in every way, I would find myself… rather unsatisfied at the lack of challenge. What’s the point exactly?

I want to bring your attention to a particular journey of self-discovery that made tragic news headlines recently in my part of the world.

The Turning Point program professes itself to “deepen the quality of life through skilful reflection and self knowledge.” It has also been labelled a “journey to the core of the human spirit.”

Sadly, one young lady actually jumped to her death in an apparent psychotic state only a few days after finishing the course in 2005. According to her husband she returned home in a dream-like state, appearing detached as if she were on drugs. An autopsy however, revealed that she had no alcohol or drugs in her system when she died.

Fast forward a few years, and the coronal inquest is just now underway. While this case is a particularly extreme example of soul searching gone wrong, it’s a situation that can help us reflect on our own lives.

How far is your Quest for MORE taking you?

Think about what you’re searching for in life. Fulfillment? Success? Maybe a blissful life with no worries or stress, where your house is filled with everything that money can buy…

To that I say BORING! Maybe It’d be great for a few weeks, but man – we need to jump outside our comfort zones to make us stronger! We need to feel pressure sometimes, in order to be better equipped to handle whatever comes our way. Sometimes we need to struggle financially to really appreciate money.

Am I suggesting that we should not strive for success? Not at all. But ask yourself: HOW FAR are you going on your quest for MORE?

1. Don’t be too concerned when NOT EVERYTHING is going your way. The pipe dream of ‘perfection’ is not always as exciting as we expect it to be.

2. Enjoy the moment. Don’t let your quest for MORE override your appreciation of what you already HAVE.

3. Watch yourself when it comes to regression sessions, psychotherapy and the like. While this kind of thing is not for me, if it is something you are involved in you should really only be dealing with people professionally trained in psychology. The experience of the unfortunate lady mentioned above is not one to be taken lightly.