I have a motto that I probably stole from somebody brilliant, but it goes like this: Success is when your work is your play. I think there’s a lot of truth in that. If your favorite thing in the world to do is look at the stars, then being an astronomer or working at NASA might turn your work into play. If you love collecting antiques, opening up an antique store might do the trick. If you’re a gardening enthusiast, perhaps you might find satisfaction working as a florist or landscape architect.
“I love what I do.”
If you get up every day terribly eager to go to work, not because you’re neurotic or obsessive, but because your work honestly thrills you to the center, you’ve attained certain level of success that many people never achieve. Perhaps one of the points to life is finding that place where work and play collide. When we love what we do, we use our talents to the highest degree. We put forth the greatest amount of effort. And although we must balance work with family time and leisure, loving our work enables us to make a greater contribution to the world.
Defining Success
So what would truly make you happy and fulfilled as a human being? Your answer might be different from mine. I might be completely satisfied with a little house with a wrap-around porch, two dogs, and a petunia garden. You might want a high-rise penthouse that overlooks the city traffic. I might want seven children, you might want a canary. I might desire a certain degree of notoriety, and you might hope for unlimited wealth. I may want to be a writer, and you may want to invent gadgets. Each of us ultimately defines our own success.
When we consider our sons and daughters with developmental delays, and even those with severe cognitive disabilities, sometimes we might project our idea of success upon them and feel pity. “My boy will never be a pilot.” “She won’t graduate from college.” “He’ll never play basketball for the NBA.” “My daughter won’t marry or have kids.” That poor, poor child. But this isn’t a fair assessment. Perhaps even a severely disabled child could grow up to be cheerfully content just exploring her own universe. Every day might be a delight as she picks flowers, tastes peanut butter, and learns to paint. How is this not success, if in her own mind she looks forward to her “work?” As parents, our goal should be to guide these special kids so that they are able to contribute something to the world that simultaneously brings them happiness. Success is when your work is your play.
And if success is a state of mind, then it is readily available to all of us who have the capacity for joy.
Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here. Some links on this blog may have been generated by outside sources are not necessarily endorsed by Kristyn Crow.
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