You Have Not Arrived
I climbed a mountain and it was one of the biggest achievements I had accomplished ever! I had trained for it, studied for it, worked my butt off to get there and reached my goal. I felt amazing! And I felt like people should be celebrating this feat with me. Where are my tv and radio interviews?? Where are the VIP invites to events and etc.? Doesn’t anyone realize that this is one of the biggest things I’ve successfully achieved to date?!?! I looked under me and saw no one. I looked left and right…no one again. Then I looked out and saw the problem. The entire time I was looking for my parade, someone else had scaled a mountain 3 times bigger and with a team of people to help. I suddenly realized my mountain was just a molehill and I had much to learn.
Everyone has a right to be proud of themselves. Especially when you achieve something grand that you have worked hard at and persisted to make a reality. However, our victories will always be short-lived if they are self-centered. There is always a bigger mountain to climb, a longer race to run, a higher height to reach and more. Success does not require acknowledgment or accolade. Entitlement is an idea but not often a reality. If you want to achieve greater things and have your experiences shared with others, you must transition from your dreams into vision.
Dreams exist within the scope of your comprehension. They are memories and ideas fused with future aspirations. Just like the character missing that bigger mountain in the earlier story, you cannot dream something you have not seen. Visions are many times beyond our comprehension. They affect more than we can conceive at one time. A vision that is bigger than your comprehension must come from a source that is also bigger than your comprehension - God. We can see the vision beyond our dreams when we get our selfishness out of the way.
In life, it is important to remember that every victory should be valued and appreciated but also clothed in humility and an understanding that we have not arrived. It's hard to feel disappointing about your small victories not being celebrated when you're focused on the bigger vision.
There is always more that can be done whether we get a parade, an award, an interview, a pat on the back or not. If you can remain focused on your God-given vision, you will watch your success grow three, four or even ten times larger than the molehill you were focused on before. And if you learn to work on what helps the whole instead of yourself alone, your satisfaction will be greater than any award you could ever be given.