The term “victory” was initially used to describe success in personal, physical combat – a defeat over one’s enemy. Today, May 8, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the end of World War II in Europe. That’s definitely a victory – there can be no doubt.
Many people, however, don’t triumph over someone else, but rather experience personal triumph over inner obstacles…often obstacles we’ve placed in our own way. And still others triumph over obstacles placed by nature, our environment or circumstances beyond our immediate control. These are by no means lesser victories and they should all be celebrated.
The world is struggling right now with the effects of Covid-19. We’re all enduring situations that most of us have never experienced before. Each day in which we survive and thrive is a triumph; it’s a victory to talk about.
It’s easy to equate victory with success. However, I think generally we think of victory as being something that is gained at the expense of someone else, while success is more often a personal gain.
Success is the goal in life – or at least I think it SHOULD be. A friend of mine ends each of her podcasts with “Progress is being just 1% better than you were yesterday.” And that progress is success – constant and consistent improvement, however small it may be, is a victory!
What are you doing in your life that allows you to claim victories? Do you care for a family or live alone? Both are feats that not everyone can accomplish successfully, but often both are overlooked because they’re simply expected of us. We have been conditioned by our culture and society to look at our daily life as being “nothing special”. We are EXPECTED to get up every day, make it through all of our regular tasks – be that a job outside the home or at home, caring for children if we have them, or being a contributing member of whatever societal group we belong to. But rarely are we lauded for completing these tasks. Quite the contrary – if by some chance we don’t get it ALL done one day, we often mentally berate ourselves (and quite possibly have someone else doing it for us!)
I’m rambling a bit with this thought, but what I’m aiming at is to share the idea that some of us need to redefine “success” because we’re looking at it through the eyes of battle instead of through the lens of improvement. Each day that we accomplish (some of) the tasks we set out for ourselves is a day in which we have succeeded. Maybe ALL the tasks didn’t get accomplished, but that’s okay…
CELEBRATE your successes, no matter how small you think they are, because that is the way to retrain your thoughts so you look at life through the eyes of the victor instead of through those of the vanquished.
