How to Bear the Burden of Success at Work - Part II
The last post discussed the "burden" of success. Our striving for success can come either from inside us or outside us. We either demand success from ourselves, or someone else demands that we succeed. Of course, it's better if we're the ones demanding success, isn't it? That's usually because we strive for excellence. But whether we demand it of ourselves, or someone else demands it of us, the burden of success can be equally daunting.
Now let's talk about what happens when success eludes us, that is, when we fail.
You may have heard the phrase "failure is not an option." It's sometimes used to inspire, sometimes it's a kind of threat. While it can be effective in it's own way, the fact is, for most of us, failure is something we deal with from time to time. Sometimes you can even get on a kind of "failure streak" where just about everything you attempt just doesn't work. I've had streaks like that. Sometimes it got so bad, it seemed like if I touched a diamond it would turn to coal.
Failure is bad enough to deal with. But when you work in an environment where the drive to succeed is so intense, it actually becomes a daily burden, the failure takes on a new meaning. The dread of failure can really take its toll in that sort of environment.
That's just when you need to rely on God. Last time I talked about the importance of God's presence at work. But we've talked many times in the past about how sometimes many days go by you haven't even given God a second thought. I guess it's just a sad fact we have to accept. We're not perfect, right? So here's another way to help you overcome this sad fact. Try thinking of your striving for success - and your occasional (or more than occasional) failures - as part of your overall struggle to make progress in your spiritual life.
Archbishop Alban Goodier, SJ talks about how we often try so hard to make progress in our spiritual life, but don't always succeed. And when we slip and fall, we can become frustrated, despondent, even depressed at times. So he reminds that we probably forget:
Now, I think that if you look at what Archbishop Goodier is saying you can see the connection to our work. Here we are striving for success at work, but we sometimes fail. Meanwhile, we're striving for success in our spiritual life - trying to be a better person and grow closer to God - and we sometimes fail at that too. So just read Archbishop Goodier's comments again in that light. Go ahead.
Now I hope you see the connection. And I hope you see why working in God's presence is so important. And let's take this to the next level. I hope you see why working for the greater glory of God should be the ultimate motivation for everything you do. If you do see that, then you'll understand that success is only a burden because we make it one. God doesn't make success a burden.
God loves us. He certainly does demand perfection, but He also understands that in our striving for perfection, we sometimes fail. That's all right with Him as long as we get right back up and try again.
OK, so maybe your boss isn't like God. Maybe he's unreasonable, even abusive as George was (the boss I mentioned in the last post) every moment you don't succeed. So you think he/she is the one making success a burden. You think the demands for constant success are being piled on you by the boss. If that's the case, you've got a problem and you've got to deal with it. If you're troubled by this, if you're anxious or angry, you're not really angry because you haven't succeeded; you're angry because of the way the boss behaves.
If you are angry that you haven't succeeded, that's just telling you that your intentions were to succeed in the first place. And that's good. You're putting in a good effort in your work. And, of course, if you really are working for the greater glory of God, it's more than good - it's holy. You've really sanctified your work.
I wish I had understood all this when I worked for George. Of course, it wouldn't have changed his behavior - something I still would have had to deal with and probably still would bother me. But, then again, I could think of George's behavior as a kind of cross, and just offered it up. Unfortunately, back then I squandered the opportunity to offer it up. By the grace of God I won't let that happen again.
Now let's talk about what happens when success eludes us, that is, when we fail.
You may have heard the phrase "failure is not an option." It's sometimes used to inspire, sometimes it's a kind of threat. While it can be effective in it's own way, the fact is, for most of us, failure is something we deal with from time to time. Sometimes you can even get on a kind of "failure streak" where just about everything you attempt just doesn't work. I've had streaks like that. Sometimes it got so bad, it seemed like if I touched a diamond it would turn to coal.
Failure is bad enough to deal with. But when you work in an environment where the drive to succeed is so intense, it actually becomes a daily burden, the failure takes on a new meaning. The dread of failure can really take its toll in that sort of environment.
That's just when you need to rely on God. Last time I talked about the importance of God's presence at work. But we've talked many times in the past about how sometimes many days go by you haven't even given God a second thought. I guess it's just a sad fact we have to accept. We're not perfect, right? So here's another way to help you overcome this sad fact. Try thinking of your striving for success - and your occasional (or more than occasional) failures - as part of your overall struggle to make progress in your spiritual life.
Archbishop Alban Goodier, SJ talks about how we often try so hard to make progress in our spiritual life, but don't always succeed. And when we slip and fall, we can become frustrated, despondent, even depressed at times. So he reminds that we probably forget:
(1) that we are aiming at the highest thing attainable in this life, and therefore must expect to fail sometimes;
(2) that of ourselves we can do nothing beyond showing our desire, and our willingness to correspond with grace;
(3) that if there were no trial, and even failure at times, there would be no sure progress. The fact that we are troubled when we fail is itself a sign that the will is good; the ominous sign would be if we failed and did not care.
Now I hope you see the connection. And I hope you see why working in God's presence is so important. And let's take this to the next level. I hope you see why working for the greater glory of God should be the ultimate motivation for everything you do. If you do see that, then you'll understand that success is only a burden because we make it one. God doesn't make success a burden.
God loves us. He certainly does demand perfection, but He also understands that in our striving for perfection, we sometimes fail. That's all right with Him as long as we get right back up and try again.
OK, so maybe your boss isn't like God. Maybe he's unreasonable, even abusive as George was (the boss I mentioned in the last post) every moment you don't succeed. So you think he/she is the one making success a burden. You think the demands for constant success are being piled on you by the boss. If that's the case, you've got a problem and you've got to deal with it. If you're troubled by this, if you're anxious or angry, you're not really angry because you haven't succeeded; you're angry because of the way the boss behaves.
If you are angry that you haven't succeeded, that's just telling you that your intentions were to succeed in the first place. And that's good. You're putting in a good effort in your work. And, of course, if you really are working for the greater glory of God, it's more than good - it's holy. You've really sanctified your work.
I wish I had understood all this when I worked for George. Of course, it wouldn't have changed his behavior - something I still would have had to deal with and probably still would bother me. But, then again, I could think of George's behavior as a kind of cross, and just offered it up. Unfortunately, back then I squandered the opportunity to offer it up. By the grace of God I won't let that happen again.
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