Going After The Prize

View this article at my "Real Wealth Creation" blog

I don't think it's an uncommon thing in our world that people who have big dreams and visions for their life can sometimes get so caught up in "trying" to make the various areas of life work that they forget how to live. All guilty parties please raise your hand. Since I don't know how to make a "text" hand I'll just say…ME.

I know in my own personal life in years past that I could sometimes get so hung up focusing on and chasing the prize that I forgot to enjoy the game. Put another way I got so caught up and focused on winning the race that I forgot to look at and savor much of the scenery along the way.

We can get so involved, in such a hurry, so busy and so anxious to manifest the end result that the scenery just whizzes by in an undistinguishable flash.

Before you know it, you’re looking up and wondering where all those years went. I fully understand what that’s like because I’ve experienced it personally and interact with countless others who have as well.

As I sit and write this, I think back to what seems like yesterday when my kids were all still at home, the sounds of their little feet pitter pattering around the house before they grew up and went out to explore and experience the world on their own.

Although I know that's inevitable, I miss those days. I miss all the cute little things they said and the hilarious little occurrences that they were a part of that they weren't even aware of.

Although I did get to experience and savor many of those precious moments, I also can't help but wonder how many of those moments I missed because I was so fixated on the prize.

It's not so much a wonder as if I'm wallowing in the past in regret, but rather share them now to perhaps provide a bit of insight to you based on my own experience that might provide you with the opportunity to experience more of those cherished times with those who are extra special to you that you might not be currently considering or thinking about as you go after your prize.

The things that are important…I mean REALLY important are the things that we can sometimes tend to temporarily put aside or take for granted as we progress toward attaining our treasured prize all the while thinking and justifying to ourselves, “Well…I'm doing this for them…they'll understand”, when the reality is that it's not so important to them what you can DO for them or give TO them but rather being there FOR them…I don't mean necessarily just being present in physical form but being "fully" there…being fully present, attentive and available for those you love and care about most.

It can prove to be a constant balancing act sometimes. Sometimes even, for me, to be quite honest…it can get damn frustrating.

Don't get me wrong…there’s nothing wrong with wanting and going after the prize. It's a commendable trait in my opinion.bTo truly win in life, to be able to fully enjoy life and experience physical, financial, relational, emotional and spiritual harmony, it’s essential to take action.

I have a desire to win the game like I think most everybody does, but at some point I think it's also important to come to the realization that spending the majority of your life and time to acquire the material prize isn't nearly as important as many “believe” that it is or nearly as important to attain as it seems once you achieve whatever it is that you've set out to do.

Once you get there, once you attain or achieve this “thing” whatever it might be, there will always be something else…something bigger…something better…something that you might believe will make you happy once you have it just like the many things before it which never delivered the sense of wholeness or completion that you “thought” it would.

The real prize isn’t anything physical. Completion isn’t derived from accumulating “physical stuff.”

Completion is something that is experienced on the inside and is never achieved through creating and acquiring things on the “outside.”

At some point what most “perceive” the real prize to be is going to go away like all material things do.

What is important…extremely important…is thinking about and becoming conscious of the unnecessary sacrifices you might be making if you let your priorities get out of order. If you allow whatever it might be that you’re doing to attain whatever your desired prize is, to dominate all your time and attention and forget about those things and people you love and value most.

I speak from experience. I was engaged in a career for years that dominated ALL my time. I found myself seeking the prize based on what I had been taught the prize was. What I had been taught that success was turned out not to be success at all. Success isn’t about money and things. Success is about harmony in life.I “woke up” one day after many years of spending the majority of my “time” attempting to acquire this “success” and realized that.

That can be both a sobering and an eye opening experience.

Like so many in our hustle and bustle world do today, I spent many hours a day for many years of my life chasing that prize. Won it many times too. Made a lot of money, lost a lot of money. Had a lot of toys, lost a lot of toys. Did we enjoy them…sure. But were the missed ball games, the absentee parent at many of the school functions, or missing those precious Halloween nights once a year taking your little Spider Man and Princess from door to door to get their treasured little candy treats worth it?

For me it wasn’t.

Until I came to the realization that although you can achieve a level of “material success” by chasing and working long and hard there’s a much easier and far more fulfilling way.

That way is developing the internal way of beingness that creates the external havingness without having to struggle and work so hard to get it. It enables you to attain the material prize without having to make so many sacrifices along the way.

Here’s the conclusion I’ve personally come to…

Time is the real prize. Having and being willing and able to take and spend the time to do what you love with who you love. That's the REAL prize. Although many of us go after the material prize, I think at some point most discover as I did, it's not really the material prize you're after as much as you might think, but rather having the time and ability to share and enjoy the fruits with those you love.

That's the REAL prize. So I guess a really important thing to think about and consider as you’re chasing your own prize is how much time does it take away from what matters to you most and are you neglecting or taking for granted the "really" important things to get it.

If you have no one to share it with once you've got it in your hands, someone to celebrate your victory with you once you cross the finish line, to savor the fruits of your labor, the prize really doesn't mean a thing.

You can spend and get more money. But when you spend time, you can never regain it. Become really conscious about how you might be spending yours.

By all means go for the prize but become consciously aware and think about what it takes to get it and make certain that you remember and understand that the real prize is about love and happiness…both the giving and receiving.

The bottom line is, it’s never the material prize we’re after, but the feelings that we believe having the prize will provide once we’re standing there holding it in our hands. The Ultimate prize in life is really all about having, expressing and experiencing love and happiness. That’s where a “true” sense of harmony comes from.

The material prize can’t and won’t ever give you that. Never has never will.

Love, Abundance, Happiness and fulfillment comes from within. It has nothing to do with having and has everything to do with “Being.“

Once you develop the ability to harmonize your internal beingness with your desired prize, you’ll discover that it comes to you. It’s not necessary to chase it or struggle to acquire it. In fact those factors can and will keep it from you or at best make it much harder to acquire than is necessary.

Be love…be abundant…be happy…and you’ll find that you’ll become enabled and empowered to do and have whatever your heart desires.

Find it within, share it with others and everything on the outside will fall into place.

If you’ll only choose to do that, you’ll find that you don’t have to “chase” the prize or anything else. In fact, you’ll start attracting it.

Coming to that realization could save you many years of toil, a lot of heartache, unnecessary anguish and WILL make all the difference in every aspect of your life…physically, financially, relationally, emotionally and spiritually.

When you can consciously and effectively harmonize those pillars of your life you’ll know what “completion” really is.

What I personally choose to refer to as Abundance and Happiness.

I'm Finished With Going After The Prize
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