A Thought for the New Year

The term success is often tethered to financial status, material belongings, and status in the social hierarchy. Many of us have bought into the notion that our achievement of success is predicated on the amount of money we have, the type of house we live in, the type of car we drive, the type of clothes we wear, etc. I, however, challenge this notion, choosing instead to define my success by my personal satisfaction with my efforts in moments and the imprint of my being on the world around me.

Man has created many golden calves for us to chase and covet. And we have allowed ourselves to be conditioned to believe that we need these contrived treasures to be happy, to be successful. Yet, as many of us realize after succumbing to the lure of status, these items are merely bastions of deceit, failing to deliver on the promise of happiness. In fact, many of these temptations are the genesis of our deepest depressions and our most visceral guilt, especially once we realize their pyrrhic value.

The intrinsic struggle that many of us endure is not unique. Although we know as has been taught to us in the ageless pithy – money can’t buy happiness; we continue to meander down the road of monetary promise in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle, seeking unmitigated happiness and lauded success. We forgo prudent decisions, exchanging them for frivolous even perilous expenses that stretch our financial capacity to its limits and beyond. What’s more, the stress and burden caused by such fiscal insolence and frivolity precipitates a ripple throughout the rest of our lives, morphing seemingly innocuous events into the extraordinary.

The challenge is to break the cycle. We must become creatures of necessity and humility, liberating ourselves from the maligned whispers of the frivolous and ostentatious, focusing instead on enriching our lives and the lives of those around us. Though we know intrinsically the truth about material gain, we must constantly remind ourselves of their fleeting value, ancillary stipulations, and the plethora of caveats that come with them. Cars, houses, shoes, jackets, phones, etc. are in constant threat from an embarrassment of assailants both premeditated and spontaneous.  They are no more possessed by us than the sun and the moon. Pride, respect, dignity, love, passion, conviction, faith, etc. these things, however, can’t be taken from us, ever. They are our foundation, an integral part of us; the fundamental ingredients of our essence. This is where our wealth resides and, inherently, our happiness and success.

The moments that mean the most to us are not predicated on or defined by money. There is no greater sense of success or happiness when a child is brought into this world; or later, such as the cascade of triumph that envelopes us when running behind a bike, letting go of the seat, watching as they inch ever closer to independence.  Or, the depths of despair we feel when separated during a tragedy and the ascension of wholeness we experience when reunited. These moments are the fabric of our lives. They are inextricable from us, each a discernible epoch in the constitution of us.

Therefore, we have the obligation to be indignant in our efforts to fortify our intrinsic values. We must hone our convictions and be proud of the individuals we are. Give credence to those things that are true and make an honest effort to embrace and imbue them. However, we cannot shrink in the eyes of perception or succumb to the notion that we are less than because of the measure of material or the perception of man.  We must be strong in and proud of whom we are. Seek opportunities to share with others and always be open to receiving. Be resolute in the fact that our constitution is our wealth, and cognizant that success is an amalgam of myriad moments where our integrity remained unblemished, serving to preserve our indelible mark on a world defined by just that – moments.


S. McGill

One of the most powerful things in the world can be obtained and used liberally by anyone who chooses to use it.  "If" can be the beginning of something great or the acquiescence to defeat. How will you use your "if"?