What is Your Success Today?
In 1984 Bart Connor was a gymnast who was able to overcome a torn bicep muscle to win two gold medals. When asked how he did it, he explained that when he was growing up, each night before bedtime his parents would ask him about his success of the day. He said, "Every night I went to bed a success. Every morning, I woke up a success. When I got injured, I knew I was going to come back because I was a success every day of my life."
That is a powerful concept! So, ask yourself each day about the success you had that day. I read the story of one father asking his seven-year-old daughter about her successes. At first his seven-year-old daughter didn't know what a success was, so she said, "I didn't beat my brother up today." While I am sure the little brother appreciated that, it may not altogether be an accurate definition of success.
If you were to write down your successes of the day, what would they be? More specifically what would your spiritual success be? Instead of dwelling on all the things that went wrong that day, all the mistakes you made, and all the people who frustrated you, think about the one great thing that happened. Maybe the one great conversation you had, the one event that made you smile, or the one accomplishment that you’re proud of.
Maybe a day of success would look like having compassion for another person while others passed by. Maybe we stopped to engage and help them. It might be we see a brother or sister at church standing all alone and instead of just dismissing them, we go to them and ask if we can help. Maybe we see a new Christian that looks lonely who could use a friend, and we ask them to sit by us. It could be as simple as recognizing them, helping them belong.
What we look for we will find. What we focus on shows up more in our life. By thinking about your success of the day and writing it down in your success journal, you will create more success in your life. Success does not come knocking on our door. Success comes because we are looking for an opportunity.
Perhaps a day of success is we read a chapter in our Bible. Maybe we sent an email or text message to someone we miss. It may even be that we had the opportunity just to speak a kind word to someone who needed it. Maybe as husband and wife, we lifted each other up as opposed to finding fault. The possibilities are endless for us.
The defeats in life are deflating. It may seem like it’s every once in a while that we celebrate a success. Make an attempt to see the daily successes. If we don’t share with another person, share it with God. He rejoices in our successes.
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