As we grow and change, we each have probably redefined the word 'success' many times in our lives. When we are young, it's all about pleasing our parents, or perhaps getting away with something. In high school, our popularity and the groups we hung with were the chief measures of our success. In our days as a young man, having a good salary and winning the respect of others became more important. For some, success was defined totally in terms of money, where money meant influence. As we age, we become split with the need for both security and significance. Once security is in place, most of us continue to redefine success and begin to wonder if success is about how much leisure we can have or how we leave our legacy.
For more people these days, success has been broadened to be about making the world a better place in some lasting, sustainable, significant way. It's about helping others to change their lives and even altering the course of history along the way. It includes protecting the environment and strengthening both our local and world community. It's about setting an example to those who are coming up behind us. It's more and more about some form of significance, and about the kind of legacy we want to leave.
Perhaps, you've achieved a measure of success in the first half of life, and it's been a thrill. But deep in your heart, you want the next part of your life to count for something bigger than self and self alone. It's a longing of your heart and your soul for Significance. Depression for most people can be defined as 'a lack of expression." To avoid the later life heart attack or stroke, you want your heart to feel a deep passion for something again and want to be certain that your greatest abilities can be still used.
"The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it." James Adams
Feeling a lack of significance, defined as 'having a special meaning, having considerable influence or effect' is manifesting in the following ways:
In 2000, The World Health Organization reported that by 2020, clinical depression is expected to outrank cancer and follow only heart disease to become the second greatest cause of death and disability worldwide
1 out of 5 people suffer or will suffer from anxiety disorders
46% of men and 40% of women say they are still trying to figure out the meaning and purpose of their lives
But what does significance look like? How do you attain it? What will it cost you? What if you are not yet financially independent? Who can help you make sense out of this stage of life?
The most pressing question is to discover the unique purpose for your life. It may not be what you've spent the better part of your life DOING or ACHIEVING. It usually has more to do with who you are BEING. This truly entails the spiritual journey from ambition to meaning.
The powerful shift from the way we thought things were supposed to be - the way we are taught early in life by parents and society - which promotes an emphasis on achievement and accumulation - are shown in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back.
Our day to day lives get our attention more than the reality of our souls and their search for meaning and significance.
How do you handle this? Take time each day? Take time each month? What do you do to give more attention to what's really important in your life?âEUR¨ It makes a difference.
And so, I would like to offer a support system to help you get clear and stay on track with what you REALLY want in Midlife. In fact, I'm all about creating a new Midlife paradigm. When you subscribe to my free Reinvent Midlife newsletter, you'll receive instant access to a special report called, "7 Secrets for Reinventing Midlife from the Inside-Out". You can do that now at http://www.reinventmidlife.com
From Dr. Toni LaMotta, Midlife Reinvention Specialist, Best-Selling Author of "What You Really Want, Wants You, International Keynote Speaker
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Toni_LaMotta
Thursday, 16 September 2010
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