Facing Success Head On
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Remember why you are on the treadmill. I am not talking about a piece of exercise equipment but the daily grind of life. The demands and pressures are enormous. The 40-hour work week is something our grandparents experienced but is an illusion in the 2020s. Inflation is up, but necessities remain. Our grandparents had a car payment and a mortgage. They did not have multiple cell phone bills, computer purchases, or internet and streaming services with their hands in our grandparents’ pockets. Contractors are not building many small, inexpensive homes.
Many respond by putting their heads down, working harder, and putting in more hours. Thomas Oppong was concerned about our treadmill society when he wrote his article, “The SuccessTrap: Why You’re Never Satisfied and How to Enjoy Life More.” Our fears of failure and getting behind financially leave us unquestioningly striving for success. Oppong writes, “Success is not an end in itself. The insatiable drive to make success a goal can consume your present time/life.”
A regular mantra I hear from people in the last part of their life is that they wish they had spent more time with their families. We become our worst taskmaster. The vicious inner slavedriver tries to keep us so focused on our fear of failure we do not have the emotional bandwidth to notice how limited our lives have become. Oppong said, “You may find yourself constantly striving for more, pushing harder and harder, and neglecting other important aspects of your life. In essence, you lose yourself.”
I am not saying, “Chuck it all!” We have obligations and responsibilities. What I am saying is we must own our decisions. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you seek to make the appropriate decisions each day. None of us walk the line of success at home, work, and with God perfectly. What God desires is for us to act with intention. Compromise isn’t a dirty word. Compromise is a reality. What makes our decisions faithful depends on our motivation and whether we invite God into our inner decision-making.