I AM SUCCESS

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

If I am Proud of it, the pride of others is just icing.

When you sit down and make your plans for your life, how do you define Success? Is it monetary, where it’s based on your salary, savings and investments? Is it relationally, where you look at the size of your family and friend circle? Is it accolades, where you count the number of degrees on your wall and awards on your shelf? What determines for you that you’ve “made it”?

I know that has to look different for different people, based on how you were raised, what you take pleasure in, and how you find peace. It’s personal. Success is personal. Because only you know what it takes to get where you’re going, and what it took to get you where you are. All of the self doubt, anxiety, down days acted as obstacles on your journey and how you dealt with them along the way gives Success it’s sweetness. And even though success looks different for each of us, I’m pretty positive that just about everyone can say at least this one thing the same: the opinions of others has impacted how you see the Success. And that’s because it’s relative. Your goals for yourself are based on an inward need and others opinion of you is based on the outward expressions/evidence. Have you ever caught yourself saying “I just want to make [insert person of significance] proud” and then proceeded to live life chasing approval? Whew! I’ve been there. But what if I were to tell you that taking that initial pride in celebrating every single win can make success easier to obtain and maintain?

I want to affirm you today around the Success story that is your life. Because I have a feeling you’ve been comparing yourself to others, discrediting cheer-able moments as just steps along the way, and taking away from what should be confidence boosting, pleasurable moments in your life. You’re looking for approval everywhere except within and when forced to look within being your toughest critic so the journey is just sad and hard. That stops today.

Affirmation 1: Big or small, you earned it all. Every Success you achieve, whether its finishing a to-do-list or getting a doctorate, YOU DID IT. And you should be proud of yourself! You will be so much happier in life if you find ways not to be pessimistic by what you have conditioned yourself to consider small wins.

Affirmation 2: If it moves you along your journey, it counts. This one is for those little setbacks that often put pause to the Success journey. Remember what the plan is, learn from it, and move forward! I love Proverbs, because it’s full of little stand alone nuggets that we can apply to our lives. So this one: “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3) Is reminding you that if you keep the good Lord first in your plan, it can’t help but to be successful! So stop doubting the journey and find new ways to enjoy it.

Affirmation 3: Success is only sweet if you taste it. Enjoy your success! When you make an accomplishment, big or small, celebrate it! Don’t discount it or say it’s insignificant and not take the time to reward yourself. It’s an excellent showing of Self-Care to reward yourself for even the small successes.

I know this guy who spent almost 20 years working on a musical. It started as a monologue he wrote just to keep himself sane during an identifying period in his life Today it’s received so much attention and praise and accolades and it has morphed into this beautiful thing that affects so many lives today. But if you ask him what he thinks of his success, in his most humblest he’ll tell you none of the awards or recognition were ever on his vision board. He just set out to do what he loved to do and Success CAME. Because he honored the journey. So I encourage you all to honor the journey today, enjoy it for all its highs and lows and ups and downs, and celebrate yourself first; BE a Success. I’m celebrating you too. I love you, and I’m always rooting for you. Keep conquering daily!