It’s amazing when you count the amount of Successful people who have accomplished great things in their lives who fall victim to depression and tragic endings.
In my deepest of meditations it came to me as to why this is the case for many of our stars, scholars, athletes and even with the not so high profile achievers who have made a difference in the lives of those who they’ve touched.
Now understand, when I put stars and athletes at the top of the list in my prior sentence, it’s not that I am saying that they are more important to our society and culture, it’s just that their example of success followed by a horrific fall is slightly more visible to the masses.
Therefore, we can mention them to others with a maximum understanding because they are known by most but that doesn’t mean that the phenomenon of depression and not so happy endings are solely theirs because many successful unsung heroes go through the same cycle.
But most of the world just does not understand the amount of sacrifice that a person has to go through to accomplish even the most overlooked of achievements and the toll that it will take on ones mind, body and soul.
For the most part, to reach the pinnacle of greatness in any chosen field of endeavor, we must mutilate our own personal lives in a way that causes us to live in an imbalanced manner with unpredictable results depending on the persons physical, spiritual, mental and moral fiber.
For those who’ve gone through the rigors of achieving a college degree or having to come up with the down payment money on a house with all of the headaches that come along with it, you remember the hell that you’ve had to go through to reach your goals and the sense of relief that came afterward.
But some of us who get caught up in having the battle mode to achieve a victory in our lives often forget to turn the switch off and simply don’t realize that the goal has been reached and the battle is over.
The delicious mental meal has been cooked but we forget to turn off the hot fires on the stove of sacrifice and denial to find ourselves in a very dark place while the world never sees our inner pain that’s engulfed in those invisible internal flames.
It’s really a sad place to be because while a high achiever can literally inspire the world with their accomplishments, the very satisfaction that the achiever THOUGHT he/she would finally behold will many times never be there leaving them drained from the effort and empty from the sad realization.
It’s a slap in the face when you have sacrificed so much only to realize that it won’t give you the sense of fulfillment that you thought would be yours.
It’s because nothing in this world will ever bring you the joy that comes from living a life that is satisfactory to your Creator.
The world wide acclaim of the masses simply cannot compare to it. But the sad thing is that those same masses feel as though they would do anything to trade places with you because they do not know the sacrifices that you’ve made to get there. And at the end of the day, when many have looked back they understood that the achievement just wasn’t worth it when they understood how much was lost in the process.
This is why you can have a CEO of a multi-million dollar company leave her lofty perk filled position to resign and become a housewife and a home make to a husband who makes far less than she did, but the restoration of balance in her life is worth more than the millions that she easily accrued when she was unhappy.
This tells me that it’s more about reaching your goals while living in balance at the same time. Sure, there are times when the sacrificial pedal has to hit the medal to meet a deadline that simply can’t be avoided, but when you’re always in a state of grinding then what will you have left when the goal is reached at the expense of a healthy mind and body?
I’ve actually been there myself on a lower level and I must tell you that it’s not a pretty place to be in.
These day I actually get more accomplished than I ever did because I’ve learned the importance of backing off when needed and constantly monitoring my “RPM’s” (Revolutions Per Minute, as in a speeding car) so that I don’t overheat and take myself out of the race.
To those who are goal oriented and are blessed with an uncanny tunnel vision that helped you to steamroll goals that others have failed to achieve with their best efforts, I will tell you that the very thing that made you is the very thing that will tear you down into nothingness.
What I’ve learned is that it’s better to move forward in measured increments as opposed to plunging yourself into a project without taking care of the other categories of your life. For it is those other areas that will support and undergird your greatest victories because it allows you an emotional safe haven from which to escape when you get shopworn from the grind of trying to reach that all important goal.
And after the goal is achieved if you’ve maintained the other all important components in life you won’t experience the “fall” that comes after reaching a goal and realizing that you’ve neglected to keep the all important part of family, friends, relationships and endeavors that have nothing to do with the battle mode needed to win.
You have to see yourself in a different light and not as a one trick pony, because when you are removed from your specialty you won’t know how to relate to the world and feel useless.
Those truly successful people are not the ones who simply reach their goals of success, but enjoy every aspect of the process of getting there because they actually know where they stand in the overall scheme of things in relation to their Creator.
The joy of the process is what I call it and if you can allow those in your world to enjoy it with you even though it may not be there particular favorite indulgence, then you won’t have the feeling of being isolated and alone in it as your support system knows every step of the way on where you stand in the balance of things.
It’s a shame that those who’ve lead and inspired us to reach higher and push harder to achieve and be the best that we can be have lost themselves in the fray simply to be left with a hollow shell of an image to show for their success and nothing more.
The huge houses, the expensive luxury cars, the never ending supply of money and the adoring admires who really don’t know or care about you at all can’t fill the emptiness inside that only a spiritually correct life can with the gift of those in your inner circle who truly love you for you EVER could.
By never forgetting this the highs that come from the sweet victory after the sacrifices made to get there will never be followed by a depression because you never gave up the all important aspects of your life to make it.
But sadly, the roller-coaster ride for many will continue for those who choose to live out of balance. They will unfortunately find themselves with either a loaded gun in their hand pointed at their temple or a handful of sleeping pills in their mouth ready to swallow down thinking that this will help them to escape the self inflicted loneliness, pain and fatigue.
Every moment of your life must be enjoyed even when you are pushing to raise your status, enjoying the process is paramount as well as never turning your back on the balance that will keep your sane when you arrive to your new reality. The temporary happiness garnered from success can leave just as swiftly as the money and friends that came along with it!
If you don’t serve God with every fiber of your being…….
If you don’t strive to please God in everything that you do…….
If you are too proud to acknowledge that God is the reason for your true success…….
Then absolutely NOTHING will bring you the peace that living a God centered life will!
Chew on THAT for a hot minute y’all!
Peace & Righteous Love Always,
Your Striving To Be Balanced Brother,
LanceScurv
407.590.0755
