Here’s a ritzy story I read recently from the American entrepreneur, speaker & author Jim Cathcart.
It’s all about competition, comparison and where to find happiness & fulfilment.
Right
on topic!
Take it away Jim:
I was working out at the fitness club at the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta.
Across the room from me there was this guy who was one of these "pumping iron" types. I was on my Stairmaster just doing my daily fitness routine and he was over there just really sweating over some serious exercise and I could tell he was into body building and quite an achiever type.
He said, "How long are
you going to be on that Stairmaster?"
I said, "Oh, thirty minutes or so."
He said, "I went two hours."
Then he continued to pump weights and then he started telling me how much weight he could lift and how he'd accomplished various things and how fast he could run, how big his car was, how big his house was, what kind of deal he got, what kind of sales he'd made lately.
And I
said, "Excuse me. When are you going to know you've won?"
He said, "What do you mean?"
I said, "It's obvious your whole life is a competition with other people. When are you going to
realize you've already won?"
He said, "I don't even understand the question."
Then he started telling me about another business deal he was working on.
The guy didn't have a clue! But I would imagine, later, if he stopped to think about what he had been asked, that question would reach to the core of what was going on with him. Because it was real clear he wasn't very happy inside otherwise he wouldn't be comparing himself with everyone else.
“You’ve already won” is an invitation to consider a radical perspective.
And I don’t use the word radical lightly.
If this new perspective doesn’t sound radical to you, then you might not have seen
the perspective I mean.
What if “you’ve already won” wasn’t just a useful frame of mind?
What if it wasn’t a handy mantra to trot out to relieve some stress?
And what if it wasn’t even a useful abundance or empowerment mentality?
What if “you’ve already won” was actually true?
This way,
there’d be nothing anyone could do to find or gather more fulfilment. There’d just be connecting more deeply with the fulfilment we already have.
And when we’re not living our lives trying to find more of something, all that's left is wonder, play, creativity, adventure, exploration, discovery and freedom.
Not because any of these activities could lead to something we don't already have.
But for the delight of the activities themselves.
If you’d like to take your own journey of exploration, discovery and freedom, more details here:
https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com
- Tom