Success, Failure and the Purpose of Making Plans

How many times have you tried something that didn’t work out the way you thought it would? A relationship, job, diet, investment, project or goal that failed. We assume that whatever we tried was a failure because it didn’t end with results that we had in mind when we started.  This translates into distrust of our intuition. 

When we say yes to something and head down the path, our yes quickly becomes defined by our projections of how it is supposed to turn out or take form.  It feels good to have a plan and move toward what feels purposeful, a direction that will help us achieve something greater than we are now.

The issue with most failed plans is that somewhere along the way a new piece of information showed up, in our environment or in our intuitive awareness, but we ignored it because we were already climbing the mountain and we wanted to summit the peak.  We had to summit the peak because it was our destination, and by god we were going to do it, even if there was ice forming on our path or lightening striking at higher elevations.  This is commitment and discipline, right?

We had such an attachment to the end result that we couldn’t give up or change our plan.  We were unwilling to stop and say, “Hey this journey has been fun, but I see that it’s time to put it on hold, take a different trail, or go back down to lower ground and try it again another day.”  We got fixated on the summit and forgot to be flexible.

It’s in our attachment to the outcome that we lose perspective on why we are putting one foot in front of the other.  Are we walking the trail without noticing the beauty around us, our head filled with future plans? 

True success is born from staying in-tune with what we are experiencing this very moment.  Are we self-critical, focused on what we are not doing or wish we had done?  Are we afraid of what others will think if we do not achieve what looks like success?  Are we so attached to making it to the summit that we are unwilling to respond to new insights? 

When we’re blinded by focus on the destination rather than the journey, we ignore signals from our intuition and environment.  We encounter obstacles that keep us from reaching our goal or make it to the summit and discover it is less satisfying than what we’d imagined. 

The purpose of every intuitive yes is to point us in a direction, so that we will intersect with valuable life experiences.  There is no failure in not reaching a certain preconceived point on the path.  The only true failure is in not giving ourselves the grace to change course as we become aware it’s needed.  It is only in the present, that we can align with and hear our inner-guidance, feeling a sense of success regardless of outcome.