Success is a Journey, Not the Destination
Posted under: Before turning the BIG FOUR-OH, I had a bucket list of things I wanted to do.
- Learn to play violin.
- Pay off the mortgage.
- Write a second novel.
- Own a muscle car
- Run a marathon.
Here’s a status update: I ran the marathon, or half marathon. I still have a mortgage, I’m still working on the novel, and I won’t ever own a muscle car until the kids are in college. I did learn to play the violin, but I quit after six months.
Retirement came after playing in a recital with my seven-year-old daughter, a violinist who had already surpassed me in skill and performance moxie. I forgot the notes to the song, and she played while I only occasionally chimed in.
My son’s recent academic experience has been a little like my violin experience. The teacher asked him to write sounds on paper (“q” makes a sound like “qu,” in the word quilt). He answered correctly until number five. His confidence crumbled at number six. Out of twelve, he missed the final six questions.
Ironically, this happens to us grown-ups, too. (See first paragraph.) When something goes wrong, panic ensues, and our confidence sinks.
My violin experience and my sons’ “deer in the headlight quiz” helped me remember about what success really means. It’s about enjoying the journey. No one will select me to play in the Philharmonic, but my goal was to develop things in common with my daughter, so my string stint was a success. As my son learns to take one question at a time, as he learns to enjoy music and art and story time, his confidence will grow. He won’t allow one bad grade to shape or define his identity.
Success, leadership guru John Maxwell says, is the journey, not the destination.
“Success is …
knowing your purpose in life,
growing to reach your maximum potential, and
sowing the seeds that benefit others.”
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