Has success ever brought you grief?

Nearly a year ago, success sauntered into sight and I was able to grasp it before it slipped back into the fog…or so I thought.

It wasn’t the first time.  It had happened before.

There had been leadership victories followed by upsets.

In retrospect, it had never occurred to me that success can be temporary.  That it takes continual effort and momentum to keep the flywheel moving. I now know better.

How about you?  Have you ever claimed victory only to succumb to defeat?

The good news is that we can lose some battles and still win the war.

Here are ten things I’ve learned about success followed by failure.

1. We can’t ride on our wins.  We need to keep doing the things that led to victory.  Be it eating right. Planning. Staying healthy. Strategizing.  Taking the daily steps that lead to supernatural growth. The minute we do, we set ourselves up for grief and failure.  Trophies are wonderful but if we spend all of our time looking at them, we won’t win anymore.
2. Regrets are never pleasant.  This is a tough truth. The last thing we want is to have regrets.  About our past. Our children. The way we spent our time. Moral failure.  However, when we get slack we usually head for the path of resistance and it doesn’t take long to run its course.  Regrets follow.
3. Contentment can lead to inactivity.  Salesmen for example can never grow content with last month’s sales.  They have to keep doing the fundamentals if they want to win. We were never designed to have everything just come to us.  We were designed to move and seek.  Success is an uphill battle.
4. The things that once brought you pleasure can change.  We learn this especially as we grow. Many people who once enjoyed certain hobbies and pursuits, no longer do.  Age is another contributing factor. The last thing we want to do is get to the end of life and find out we were running toward the wrong end zone.
5. Failure can spur you on toward greater victory.  Nobody enjoys failure, but it can be a tool. Study the life of people like Abraham Lincoln who experienced failure after failure.  Don’t get bitter, get better. It’s failure, not success that often spurs us on to greater heights.
6. Failure after success is not uncommon.  This isn’t a cop out. There’s just something comforting in knowing that you’re never alone.  Many people succeed and many fail. In fact, in most cases success is rare. It’s natural and human to sometimes succumb to all of the opposing forces.  But failure doesn’t have to be forever.  Be humble.  Love others when they fail.  Be encouraging.  Learn to recognize diamonds in the rough.
7. We often learn more from our failures than we do our success.  Call it the ‘School of Hardknocks’, or the ‘University of Adversity’ but failure often purifies and purges.  It separates the gold from the dross. Yes, failure is often very costly, but it’s worth every ounce of pain if we learn something from it.  Sometimes you have to go smack through failure to win.
8. At the end of the day, nobody can take away your victories.  Yes, lingering over our victories can be dangerous, but there’s nothing wrong with savoring them.  When I do, I often reflect on God’s goodness. Certain accomplishments pay dividends for a lifetime.
9. Every failure provides an opportunity to learn.  While this sounds redundant, it’s not in my opinion.  In fact, just a few years ago I started doing autopsies on my failures and the lessons were incredible.  One year I missed three opportunities! After reflecting upon each one for hours, I recognized what I did wrong and now I’m better prepared for the future.
10. If we succeed and have no one to share it with, we haven’t succeeded.  Again, if we succeed and have no one to share it with, we haven’t succeeded.  Leaders take people with them and when leaders get to where they’re going, many who started with them remain.  Imagine a celebration without anyone to celebrate with. That’s not a celebration, that’s Lonelyville.

I hope that some of the mistakes I’ve made and lessons I’ve learned will help you.  It’s not difficult for me to imagine that you may be in a very hard place right now.  It’s so easy to focus on our failures rather than our success.

My prayer is that as you read this post, you will be encouraged to celebrate your victories, chase new ones and learn from your mistakes.  Remember, God never wastes a hurt!