we are multidimensional.there are so many ways that we define ourselves. layers upon layers of information, details, good things, bad things, the in-between things. we are mothers, we are fathers, we are educators, we are husbands and wives. we are collage graduates, we are workers, we are bankers, lawyers, scientists, plumbers…you get the point.
with all of the many many things we are and can be and want to be, what are some of those things that we are most proud of about ourselves. what are our greatest accomplishments? what do we see when we look at ourselves in the mirror. who do we share our lives with? what so we look forward to each day?
this is a topic for everyone, because, forget about diabetes for a moment…
I am married with children, so your list kind of sums up a normal day-in-the-life…husband, worker, banker, lawyer, scientist, plumber. Every day, all of the above. Maybe add “referee” and “sheriff” to the list.
Nearly 20 years HAPPILY married despite the tribulations. It’s tough work to stay happy amidst many life struggles, but it’s rewarding.
My children. They are all so unique and beautiful in their own ways. They are my greatest “success”
Money doesn’t mean anything to me. I’ve been making quite a bit of money for quite a long time and it comes and goes and it seems that no matter how much I make it’s never enough…so money doesn’t matter. Status doesn’t matter to me OUTSIDE of my own home. I could care less how people perceive me, view me and whether or not they spend time talking about me. We have, and have had nice things…cars, houses, boats, etc., and although my immediate family are envious, these aren’t what matter to me either. Both my wife and I have advanced degrees…I was the first in my family to obtain such a thing… most of my immediate family were high school drop-outs.
Here is what I tell everyone when they ask me “what is my measure of success?” I tell them…when I am old and my wife and I are empty nesters, will my children want to be around us. Will they want to share holiday meals with us and come visit us between what will be the very busy lives that I’m sure they will have just as we have. Will they want to hang out with pops when I’m old…if the answer to this is “Yes” (and I won’t know for another 20 years or so), then I consider my life as being successful.
Every morning I have a single goal…to try and be a little better today than I was yesterday. I tell my children and wife I love you as many times each day as I can because I’ve seen death and I know how fleeting life is. Work and all the other things are just fillers for me. My life and my accomplishments are my wife and my children, nothing more, nothing less.
